Whispers in the Wind
by GSDLover1623
Summary: AU. Dick Grayson wasn't taken in by Bruce Wayne; he was kidnapped by The League of Talons. What happens when the Team encounters a 13-year-old boy on one of their missions? Who is Whisper and why can't anyone figure out what his past is? Meanwhile, the Talons want their prized assassin back, and at any cost.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hey guys! This is my first story so I hope y'all like it! This is an AU about Dick Grayson getting kidnapped right after his parents died by The League of Talons. He then runs away from them because he doesn't want to be a killer. I am well aware of the new Court of Owls arc for him, but this has nothing to do with it. I just think 'The League of Talons' is a cool name for a group of assassins. But despite the prologue, this story does NOT center around Dick's singing. This is just an outlet that he uses before and after he meets the Team. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy it! **

**P.S. If I sometimes rant about my social life, sorry. Fanfiction is a way for me to get away from the world and I like to use it to let off steam. **

**P.P.S And yes if y'all have noticed from my writing, I am a Southern girl born and raised. And BTW, Char-Grill has the best burgers EVER!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

Many awful things happened in the slums of Gotham. Muggings, murders, and vandalisms were a regular occurrence in that area of the town. But, despite the awful appearance of the rotting buildings, good things could be found there too. Loving families inhabited several of those houses and Batman patrolled there regularly, cleaning up the streets. But perhaps the most joyful thing found in Gotham's worst was the singing heard every night from one of the rooftops.

A few articles had been published in the newspapers about it. No one knew hardly anything about the singer except that he was a young male, and by the sound of it, played acoustic guitar. Every night, he would lower an old bucket to the sidewalk by a rope and play. His music usually lasted about two to three hours before it was cut off and the (now money-filled) bucket was lifted up. No one had seen his face or even knew his name. They were only aware that his amazing voice brought a ray of light to the dark streets of Gotham.

* * *

Dick Grayson tucked into a neat roll as he landed on the rooftop. Straightening easily, he walked to the edge of the building and threw one leg over the ledge. Catching his Converse on the brick jutting out from the wall, he proceeded to move down the side of the seven-story apartment building. Finally reaching the broken window on the six floor, he balanced expertly on the windowsill before hopping onto the hardwood floor inside.

He set down his guitar and bucket under the window, stuffing the money in his jeans pocket as he did so. Dick then proceeded to walk along the rotten wood to the small bed on the other side of the room. Upon reaching his sleeping place, he sat down without a single creak and slipped his black sneakers off. Slipping under the threadbare covers, Dick let his aching muscles relax before falling into a light slumber.

* * *

**AN: Ta-da! Hope you liked it! (And he can "tuck into a neat roll" while carrying an acoustic guitar because he's just that awesome!) If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to review! Bye!**


	2. Hot Dogs

**AN: Hi! Here is the second chapter, posted within 3 hours of the first one! Of course it probably helped that I had it pre-typed... Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

Run. Run. Had to keep running. 

A twelve-year-old boy dashed through the trees, avoided brambles and tree roots with a mastered grace. Never daring to look back, he jumped over a fallen tree and splashed through a shallow creek. He could see the light of day ahead of him. He was almost away from them. He was almost free of their influence. He passed the last tree to find himself…

…in the middle of a brightly-lit circus. Five figures could be seen falling from the trapeze. With a sickening crunch they landed, right in front of them. He stared horrorstruck, his bright blue eyes wide. The two females and three males only stayed still for a moment before they started to rise. Their joints were bent at seemingly impossible angles as the bloodstained group began to reach for the young boy in front of them. The black haired child backed away before hearing the performers voices whispering to him.

Kill…Kill…Kill…Kill…KILL!

* * *

Dark brown, almost black, eyes bolted open as their owner sat up in a cold sweat, panting. However, it soon turned into dry, rattling coughs that stirred up dust in the freezing room. After Dick's small frame stopped shaking, he slid on his shoes before rising. Walking to the window at the edge of his sparsely furnished room, he peered out of the shattered window to see the sun just beginning to rise.

Smirking, the raven-haired boy jumped onto the window sill and pulled out his grappling gun. The thirteen-year-old caught his hook on the adjacent building before swinging off into the crisp morning air. Flipping perfectly onto a rooftop, Dick looked over the edge to spot a hot dog stand. He readied himself to jump down when another coughing fit overtook him. After a while, the shuddering stopped and the mumble of, "Stupid flu", could be heard before a black streak landed in the shadows directly behind the vendor.

Shoving his hands into his jean pockets, Dick walked around to the front of the cart. The vendor looked up before giving a bright smile- albeit fake.

"Hey there sonny, what can I get for you?"

Giving back an equally artificial grin, Dick politely replied, "two dogs with ketchup, mustard, and chili, please."

"Comin' right up."

After a short wait for his breakfast, Dick paid for the hot dogs before beginning to walk along in the morning air. Deep in thought and feeling miserable from being sick, he didn't notice subtle movements in the alleys he passed.

* * *

Dick's POV

Sometimes I wonder why I live in an abandoned apartment. I mean, sure, I get about $10 each night from singing, but I use that money for food. If I wanted to be able to eat and have medicine for when I get sick, I could go admit to Social Services that I'm not dead. Yeah that would go over well. I'd walk up to the front desk and say, "Hi! My name's Dick Grayson, orphaned acrobat. You pronounced me deceased a few years back but I was really kidnapped by a group of assassins. Got an extra bed?"

Huh. I might actually try that just for their reactions.

Anyway, here I am, walking along in the melting snow of Gotham with a slight fever and bad cough, with hot dogs for breakfast. My life is so messed up.

Wandering along the empty streets, I make a split second decision and turned left onto Turner Drive. I was hoping to find some valuable stuff in their trashcans. That's how I found my guitar, bucket, and blanket.

However, before I could even take two steps into the shadowed alley, someone grabbed me from behind.

Now let's get something straight, I can usually tell when someone's around, except when I'm sick, cold, and tired. So in my defense, I was not at the top of my game.

Letting my instincts take over, I drove my heel into my attacker's foot, elbowed him in his gut, and bashed his head with my own. His grip slackened and he fell unconscious almost immediately. Before I could take in my surroundings, another man came at me with a crowbar. Rolling between his legs, I then leaped up and delivered a precise spin kick. He was down, too.

The next idiot had a pocket knife. Wow, how original. Rushing forward, I simultaneously kneed his gut and punched his face, following up with a tight backflip into his chin. Almost too easy.

Before I could bask in my victory, though, I started coughing again. A forth thug grabbed me around my midriff and pressed a rag over my mouth. Chloroform.

I couldn't help but feel dread rise inside me as I lost consciousness.

* * *

**AN: Okay, just to put this out there, I will not be doing 1st person POV very often. I just did that to help explain certain points in the story. And that was my first action scene so I hope I did okay. And BTW I have some questions about acronyms on Fanfiction. If I get some wrong or I just don't know what it is, can you review and tell me? Thanks!**

**1) ****OC****: Original Character**

**2) ****OOC****: Out of Character**

**3) ****AU****: Alternate Universe**

**4) ****Slash****: Boy/Boy Romance**

**5) ****Fluff****: Cutesy love**

**6) ****Anon Meme****: I have no earthly idea**

**Anyways, watch for updates! Later!**


	3. Chicken Soup

**AN: Chapter 3 is up! And I will be naming the chapters perfectly random things that are mentioned in each chapter. Enjoy!**

**And to answer ****mixxi****'s question:**

**The League of Talons have absolutely nothing to do with the Court of Owls besides inspiration for the former's name. And I'm planning on a rivalry between the Talons and the Shadows, so that way they are like two evil leagues battling it out. **

**And the Talons are not near as open as the Shadows. The Justice League don't know for sure that they exist, they've only heard rumors about them.**

******Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

Artemis was not happy. No, that's not right. Artemis was furious.

Her and the team had been assigned a simple observe and report mission by Batman. But of course that didn't work out.

Almost immediately, Kid Idiot had ran into a group patrolling the building. Some of their buddies had shown up, and all in all, it didn't go well.

Now Artemis was sitting with her legs stretched in front of her and her arms tied behind her back. Her companions were in similar positions to her left, all conscious except Miss Martian. They had placed her quiver and Aqualad's water controllers on the other side of the room and a piece of Kryptonite had been put at Superboy's feet. She was currently doing her best to wriggle out of her bindings as she watched the door her captor's had left through.

They were in a large box-filled warehouse with skylights and only one door. They were sent to investigate the rumor that a local gang was exporting weapons to an unknown buyer. They hadn't even found out who the unknown buyer was before they were captured. Not fun.

Artemis instantly stopped struggling when the door banged open. A short, portly man in a green tailored suit walked out. The fluorescent lights reflected off of his bald spot as he stalked to the middle of the room. He eyed the team before turning on his heel and facing the door again.

"Bring him in!"

Two bulky men swaggered inside the warehouse with an unconscious boy between them. He wore a thin black hoodie and dark skinny jeans. HIs sleeves were rolled up to his elbow where they met a pair of clunky, fingerless gloves. The boys hands were cuffed behind his back and his raven hair hung in front of his face. The henchmen unceremoniously dumped him on the floor a few feet away from the pudgy man.

"Careful! Careful!", his voiced dropped to a purr. "After all, he is our _prize jewel_" He walked up to the kid and lifted his chin up, displaying his face.

You could clearly see he wasn't getting much to eat. His cheekbones were well defined and dark shadows colored the areas under his eyes. The boy's cheeks were flushed, which contrasted deeply with his pale skin tone.

The Pudge Man frowned, eyeing the child's face. "What did you do to him? He looks awful."

The dumber-looking underling responded. "We didn't do nothing boss. He was like that when we found him."

Pudge Man's scowl deepened before he stood and said, "Alright. It doesn't matter. The League will still pay a fortune for him."

Artemis' eyes instantly narrowed. Why would the Justice League want him? He didn't look like a big threat. Even if he was juvenile criminal, that doesn't mean the League would pay for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a wheezing cough.

All eyes turned to the child laying in the middle of the room. He appeared to still be unconscious but was rather sick by the sound of it. Artemis took this distraction to finally manage to free herself.

Moving immediately, she sprang forward and took down the three men in a matter of minutes. They weren't very well trained.

Artemis then retrieved her quiver before untying her teammates. Superboy awakened Miss Martian before following the rest of the group to the center of the room. Artemis kneeled next to the kid and removed his handcuffs right as he started to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and promptly punched Artemis in the face.

* * *

Dick felt like a heavy cloud had been placed over his head. As he struggled to regain consciousness, he couldn't help but have flashbacks of the last time he had been this heavily sedated.

Everything was gone. EVERYTHING had just come crashing down around him. A small boy crouched in a shadowed corner of the bustling tent. His parents were so bloody and…and.._broken_. They shouldn't look like that. They should be gracefully curved and flying through the air. A constant torrent of tears streamed from the troubled child's eyes. He never even noticed the silhouettes surrounding him.

How long had he been out? Dick could only tell that he was starting to wake up. His entire body felt awful and he had a particularly horrible headache. He forced himself to rouse and Dick finally managed to pry his eyes open.

At first the only thing Dick could see was a green and yellow blur. The blur then changed into a blonde teen dressed in all green looking down at him. His face hardened when he realized exactly _who_ that girl was. If Artemis Crock was here, then Sportsmaster couldn't be far behind, which meant the Shadows were close by too.

Doing the only thing that came to mind, Dick punched her before doing a back hand spring to a few boxes. Unfortunately, the chloroform hadn't completely worn off and he fell backwards onto the ground.

It was then that he noticed the rest of the warehouses occupants. Three men were strewn about on the floor and four more teens stood in battle stances, staring at him. The ginger was easily singled out as Kid Flash, despite the dark clothing, while the dark skinned male was obviously Aqualad. The emerald-skinned girl and the buff adolescent were unfamiliar, though. Assuming that the group of teens were all heroes, he lowered his guard and stood.

"So you left Daddy Dearest for the heroes? NIce move."

Artemis looked on dumbfounded. He _knew_ about her history with her father? Eyeing her teammates, the archer attempted to keep her lie in check. "Uh...Excuse me? I don't know what you're talking about."

So that's how she wants to play it. Sending her a knowing look, Dick then said, "Sorry, must have you confused with someone else."

Kid Flash took that opportunity to interrupt.

"Dude, who are you?!"

Dick paused. If he gave his real name, word might get out about his location. On a whim, Dick answered with the name of his favorite childhood character from his parents Romani stories.

Smirking, Dick replied, "You can call me Whisper."

A certain Kryptonian with an attitude grunted. "So we don't even get a real name?"

Whisper was about to retort with a snarky comment when another hacking fit overtook him. The heroes all took looked on worriedly while Miss Martian took a few tentative steps forward. When the youth's frame stopped trembling, everyone released a breath they hadn't realized they had been holding.

An anxious extraterrestrial was the first to cut the silence. "Are you okay? Do you need medicine? Or I heard that chicken soup helps humans when their sick!"

Whisper blinked once. Then twice. Then said, "Ummm, I'm fine. It's just the flu."

"But you do have medicine, correct?", questioned Aqualad.

Whisper shrugged. "No, not exactly."

Kid Inconsiderate once again made an appearance when he said, "Then ask you're parents to buy you some medicine."

Whispers face instantly became emotionless. "Not all of us have parents."

The entire team's eyes widened. This boy was an orphan? Miss Martian impulsively flew over and wrapped her arms around Whisper. He stiffened before hissing, "Let._ go_."

The Martian released her grip before taking a few steps back. "But I thought that humans show their sympathy to one another by exchanging hugs?"

Whisper couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Was she really that naive? "Some humans also have a little something called _personal space_. I don't like being touched," he explained. Okay, so maybe he was just worried that someone might stab his back if they hugged him, but no need to inform them of that.

Miss Martian lightly bumped her forehead before saying, "hello Megan, of course some people don't like being touched."

"Well, um, it's been fun, but I really need to get going. Bye," said Whisper as he reached for his grappling gun.

"Wait, you're leaving," asked Kid Flash.

Aqualad followed up Kid Flash's comment and said, "don't you think it would be wise to obtain medicine for your illness?"

"Dude, I'm fine," Whisper deadpanned. "I'll live. Now if you'll excuse me, but as I said before, I really need to get going."

He began to reach for his grappling gun once again before Artemis spoke up.

"Why did that man say the League would pay a fortune for you?"

Whisper paused. These men were planning on handing him over to the League, and _not_ the Justice League, which meant _someone_ had found him. And judging by the use of force to get him here, it wasn't someone he wanted to get acquainted with. Pushing down his rising panic with years of practice, he played it off like it was nothing.

"I don't know. Maybe they heard about my charming personality?"

Artemis gave him a suspicious look and said, "or maybe you're a notorious criminal that the League is after."

At this, the heroes' expressions turned thoughtful. After a brief moment of silence, Aqualad spoke.

"Perhaps it would be best to take you into custody, to be sure you are not a threat."

Whisper's eyes narrowed dangerously and he immediately started to object. "But I'm not a criminal! You can call your mentors right now and ask them!"

"We can't. The comm is jammed. There's probably a 800MHz frequency emitter blocking it," said Kid Flash.

"Look I don't have time for this. I am not a criminal, so I am leaving. Capiche?"

Aqualad hesitated; if they let a possible delinquent get away, they would surely be scolded. On the other hand, if they brought a normal civilian to the Cave, they would be reprimanded for that, too. Weighing his choices, the Atlantean determined what the best course of action was.

"Please come with us for one night. We will provide you with medication and food, and we can prove you are not a criminal," said Aqualad.

All eyes were on the young boy. Whisper knew they didn't trust him, but they WERE offering food and medicine. And if he declined, they would probably think he was a guilty criminal and go after him. To put it bluntly, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The conscious occupants of the warehouse all tensed when he opened his mouth to speak. Sighs of relief escaped many when those three words came out of his mouth.

"Okay, I'll come."

* * *

**AN: And there it is. Sorry if it's rushed or non-believable. I was just trying to find a way to get someone as non-trusting as Whisper to go to a superheroes hideout. And I have no idea if there really is a Romani story with a character named Whisper in it. **

**Anyways, watch for uploads!**

**GSDLover out!**


	4. Hero Volcano

**AN: Here it is! The seating in the Bioship is this:**

**-Miss Martian at the controls**

**-Whisper and Kid Flash at their positions at the beginning of "Welcome to Happy Harbor"**

**-Superboy in front of Kid Flash and Artemis in front of Whisper**

**-Aqualad at the front**

**And this takes place after "Denial" but before "Downtime". And it's about 8:00 pm, so Whisper was unconscious from about 6:00 am to 7:00 pm, so 13 hours. That's a lot of chloroform.**

******Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

The silence in the Bioship was uncomfortable to say the least. Whisper wasn't offering any conversation starters, and no one on the Team wanted to get on his bad side. Eventually, Kid Flash couldn't stand it anymore.

"So dude, tell us about yourself."

All eyes turned to the raven-haired teen, who shrugged nonchalantly before saying, "Not much to tell. I live in an old apartment in Gotham, and I get by." He paused to clear his throat then continued. "I have ways of getting money and no one bothers me. That's about it."

"What do you mean you have _ways_?"

Whisper shot a quick glare at Superboy, then replied, "I don't steal if that's what you're implying. And by the way, what exactly are you names?"

"Hello Megan! We haven't introduced ourselves yet," exclaimed Miss Martian.

"Well I'm Miss Martian." She indicated to herself

"That's Superboy." He grunted.

"Artemis." She gave a barely noticeable nod.

"Kid Flash." He smirked and crossed his arms.

"And our leader, Aqualad." He also sent a nod in Whisper's direction.

Whisper nodded and mentally stored that information away for later before asking something that had been bugging him since he met the group. "So are you guys a covert branch of the Justice League? You aren't in the papers _and_ you have your own leader."

His answer was given by the Team's stricken expressions. Grinning crookedly, he said, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. And where are we going? I doubt you're taking me to the Watchtower."

The Team openly gaped at him now.

"How do you know about the Watchtower," questioned Aqualad.

Whisper's smirk grew as he replied, "lucky guess?"

Miss Martian's voice interrupted further conversation. "Approaching our destination."

Still grinning, Whisper turned to face the windows of the Bioship. Although Miss Martian had had the ship cover the windows, he had a pretty good idea of where they were going. And he was hardly ever wrong.

* * *

It was hard to surprise Bruce Wayne, and even harder to surprise Batman. But when the Team called ahead and said they were bringing a sick adolescent to their _secret_ headquarters, some would say he was caught off guard. When the Cave announced the arrival of the Bioship, Batman watched them land from the shadows in the hangar. Miss Martian and Superboy exited first, closely followed by Aqualad. Kid Flash then walked out talking about food to a small boy in dark civvies and black gloves. Artemis came last, glaring at the stranger's back.

Batman took a step out of the shadows, causing everyone to jump, with the exception of the young boy. He looked on as if he had known the bat was there the entire time.

"Team, report to the briefing room, where you will explain why a _civilian_ has been granted access to your base." Upon finishing, he gave a toned-down Batglare, causing all but the newcomer to look away. Narrowing his eyes, Batman tuned on his heel and left the hangar.

* * *

Whisper couldn't help but inwardly laugh at Batman's exit. A 13-year-old boy had just unnerved the Dark Knight! He was pulled from his thoughts when the Team began walking towards the hallway Batman had left by. Coming up beside Kid Flash, he opened his mouth to speak when he started coughing..._again_. The Team cast him worried glances but brushed it off. They had gotten accustomed to it on the ride over.

When Whisper could breathe easily again, he turned to Kid Flash. "I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say we're in Mount Justice?"

Kid Flash's eyes widened and he began to protest. "Mount Justice?! Pssshh, please, we are, um, at...Hero Volcano!"

Whisper only smirked, and turned away as the group entered the briefing room. It was time for the fun to begin.

* * *

**AN: There we go! I was going to involve the conversation with Batman in this chapter, but I decided against it. Anyways, thanks for the positive comments! I'll update soon! Oh, and quick question: How old do y'all think I am? **

**-GSDLover**


	5. Cookies

**AN: New chapter! For future reference, I always try to make my chapters long enough so that they can be read using the "Reader" button by the search bar. (Yes, I do use an Apple) **

**And just saying, anyone notice how in "Drop Zone", Batman and Red Tornado looked at ****each other, then gave an answer? Maybe Batman is a robot so he can communicate silently with Red Tornado!**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

Batman and Red Tornado stood stoically in the briefing room. They watched impassively as the Team filed in. Whisper hung back slightly; he wasn't a part of this, he was just the _cause_ of this.

Batman's gaze swept across the room before settling on Aqualad. "Explain."

The Atlantean stepped forward and looked at the ground. "Apologies, Batman, but we found this boy unconscious during our mission. He says his name is Whisper and he lives alone in Gotham."

"And why did you deem it necessary to bring him here?"

Aqualad lifted his head slightly and replied, "He is sick and his captors mentioned the League paying money for him. We did not believe he was a criminal, but we couldn't be sure. We brought him here to be positive that he is not a juvenile delinquent and to provide him with medication."

Batman nodded slightly before saying, "I see. Team, you are dismissed. I expect a written report of the mission from each of you."

The Team gave sounds of acknowledgement before exiting in the direction of the living room. Whisper made to follow, but upon a look from Batman, he stayed put.

After the teen heroes were out of sight, Batman began his questioning.

"Who are you?"

A mischievous smile spread across the youth's face as he said, "Aqualad already told you that. It's Whisper."

"Your real name."

"Would you believe me if I said I was Bruce Wayne?"

Batman's eyes turned to white slits on his cowl. He did not like this boy. "What do you mean by that?"

Whisper's grin grew larger and he said, "I mean, I know plenty about you and you know nothing about me, B." His face turned serious before he continued. "But I assure you I won't attack you or the Team. I'm not a threat to you."

"Are you saying you're a threat to other people?"

"Depends on who the person is."

They fell silent, surveying each other's faces. They both wore emotionless masks, but each could see through the cracks of the other. Finally, Batman broke the silence. "You'll be permitted to stay here for one night. If we find any new information on you, we'll go from there."

Whisper nodded and turned to leave. At the doorway, he paused, and turning to look back at Batman, he smirked, and said, "Good luck on finding any info on me. Even the world's best have to fail sometimes.

* * *

Whisper walked along the hallways of the Cave. It really was a huge place. He had already passed the doors to a pool, several bedrooms, and even a music room (He had stored the location of that away for later). After wandering around for about 15 minutes, he turned left and found himself in a large room with green furniture and a flat screen TV. Everyone on the Team except for Miss Martian was sitting around on couches. Artemis and Kid Flash were arguing, Aqualad was reading, and Superboy was watching static on the TV.

No one noticed his presence before Miss Martian flew into the room levitating a tray of cookies. Seeing him lurking in the doorway, she shrieked, "Whisper!"

The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at him. Aqualad closed his book and asked, "What did Batman say to you?"

Whisper shrugged, remembering his conversation with the Caped Crusader. "Nothing much. He said I could stay here for the night and *cough* and we would go *cough* from there." As Whisper rubbed his sore throat, Miss Martian slapped her forehead once again.

"Hello Megan! You need medicine for your cough!" Handing her cookie tray to Kid Flash, she sped out of the doorway on the far wall. Kid Flash wasted no time in downing the entire tray, earning him a smack to the head from Artemis.

"Save some for the rest of us Kid Stomach! We need to eat, too!"

Kid Flash swallowed the last cookie before raising his hands in defense. "It's not my fault I have a serious metabolism!"

A light cackle sounded throughout the room. Goosebumps raced up everyone's arms as they turned to face the source of the laughter.

"Dude! That laugh is seriously creepy!"

Whisper chuckled once again before it turned into a cough. He cleared his throat right as Miss Martian flew back in holding a brown bottle and a small, plastic cup.

Smiling, she glided to the kitchen and set the cup down on the counter. "It looks like I came just in time, then. What's your weight?"

Whisper shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere around a hundred pounds?"

Miss Martian squinted at the bottle, then carefully poured the needed amount into the measuring cup. Once she finished, she picked the cup up and floated to Whisper.

"Here you go!"

Whisper slowly took the cup from her. He sniffed it, shrugged, then downed the entire thing. He cleared his throat once again and said, "Thanks. So, now that that's done with, where am I going to sleep?"

* * *

Whisper surveyed his room carefully. It was small with a bed, dresser, desk, and doors leading to a closet and bathroom. The bed was adorned with sheets and a blanket, while the dresser only had a digital clock and a mirror attached to it. The desk had a red spiral-bound notebook, loose-leaf paper, and several pens and pencils.

The young teen stifled a yawn before looking at the red, digitized, numbers. 10: 06 pm.

It wasn't that late, but then again, it had been a tiring day. He had been kidnapped, handcuffed, and now he was sleeping in a hollowed out mountain with two aliens, a former villain, an ADHD speedster, and a guy with gills. He deserved some rest.

Slipping off his shoes and sweatshirt, Whisper then eased himself into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. He turned onto his side before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The Team and Batman were standing in front of him, all with smiles on their faces, (with the exception of Batman). He was officially part of the Team, officially a hero. He had a new family. 

Suddenly, he wasn't in his body anymore. Whisper looked on as a bystander. He- _no, his body_- laughed. Not his usual laugh, but an evil sounding laugh. He pulled a long sword from seemingly nowhere and attacked. Metal ripped through flesh. Soon, the only hero left standing was him and Batman. No, just Batman. He- _no, his body_- wasn't a hero after this. The Dark Knight looked at the bloody sword, at his face, then a single tear strolled down his cheek. Whisper stared, terrified. He- _no, his body-_ had broken Batman, the Caped Crusader, the Protector of Gotham. The boy watched as the black-clad man fell too. He-_no, his body_- stood in the pool of blood. Bodies were strewn around him- _no, his body._

A shadow moved, and Whisper was back in his own self. His old mentor strolled into the light. Smiling cruelly, Whisper bowed and said, "They have fallen, Father. They are dead."

He had killed them. Not his body. Him. It was all him. He was a murderer. A killer. An assassin. A slaughterer. A butcher. He wasn't Dick Grayson. He was a monster.

He was Whisper.

* * *

Whisper awoke with a start. He pushed himself into a sitting position and quickly took in his surroundings. Just as he was about to panic about being in an unknown location, yesterday's events came rushing to him, along with the dream.

That was the first dream like _that_. Many of them involved him starting to become what he desperately didn't want to be. A murderer. But, in this one, he killed everyone around him. And he _enjoyed_ it.

Unable to take it any longer, Whisper shoved himself out of bed and pulled on his sweatshirt and shoes. He grabbed the notebook and a pen from his desk before striding out the door. He knew it was too early for anyone to be up. His clock said it was 2:23 am. But that was good, he needed time alone.

Hearing the notes starting to come together in his head, Whisper quickened his pace. He knew exactly where he was going. The one place he could be himself. The place he saw after his talk with Batman. The music room.

* * *

**AN: And there it is! I just love having Batman be all confused! And that was Whisper's first laugh so far! Mwahahahaha, evil ideas are at work! ;)**

**If the dream seemed rushed, it was supposed to be. Dreams for me always have warped senses of time, so this is supposed to show that. And like I said in the Prologue, singing is Dick's way of expressing himself and a way for the Team to understand him better.**

**Read on, Fanficteans! And thanks so much for your compliments to the name "Hero Volcano"!**


	6. Waffles

**AN: And voila! ****And BTW the big paragraph in between the underlined paragraphs in his dream was also supposed to be underlined, too. Doc Manager kept un-underlining it, so yeah. Just imagine it's underlined!**

**And for those of you that think this is going to be a slash story, I'm not writing it that way. I'm writing Wally and Whisper's interaction based on me and my BFF's interaction. If you want to interpret it that way, that's fine, but I'm not intentionally writing any romance.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

Wally woke up to his stomach growling, as usual. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes furiously. Once he deemed himself semi-awake, he heaved himself out of bed and began trudging to the Cave's kitchen. He rounded the corner only to came face to face with a blonde archer. Shrieking, he jumped away, now fully awake.

"Watch where you're going, Baywatch!"

"Why don't you?!"

Aqualad's deep voice interrupted their argument. "Stop it, both of you." He paused and looked around quickly before continuing. "Have any of you seen Whisper?"

Upon seeing his teammates shake their heads, his eyes narrowed. "Kid, run to his room and see if he is there."

Wally nodded before disappearing in a streak of color. While waiting for the speedster's return, M'gann turned back to her cooking with Superboy watching her every move. Artemis proceeded to make her way to the restroom and Aqualad waited with his arms crossed. After a few seconds, the red head returned.

Wally shook his head and said, "He wasn't in his bed. Not in his bathroom, either."

A pensive expression overcame Aqualad's face. Whisper wouldn't have betrayed them and run away, would he? For all they knew, it was his plan all along to meet the Team and come to the Cave. No, that was jumping to conclusions. "Kid, search the top three floors. We'll take this floor."

"Yes sir, oh fearless leader, sir!" And with that, he was gone in a flash. **(AN: Pun intended.)**

"M'gann, link us up and take the hallway leading to the hangar. Superboy, the far hallway. I'll take the bedrooms."

Superboy grunted, while M'gann agreed cheerily, and they soon disappeared down their respective hallways.

Aqualad watched them leave before going down his own corridor. He checked in most of the rooms on the left side when a voice behind him said, "Aqualad, what are you doing?"

He turned to find Artemis halfway out of the bathroom. After a moment's pause he said, "Whisper is not in his room and we are trying to locate him."

Artemis' eyes turned to slits and Aqualad's past suspicions rushed through her head. She quickly said, "I'll help you look," and proceeded down the hallway. She opened the first door on the right to find nothing, same with the second and the third. The fourth room, however, held a sight she didn't expect.

A grand piano is in the center of the room, surrounded by different guitars along the wall and a drum set in the corner. The most peculiar thing however, was the small form hunched over the keys of the piano, apparently asleep. Crumpled pieces of paper were scattered around him and a spiral-bound notebook lay open at his head.

_"Guys, I found him,"_ Artemis said via mind link.

Aqualad began his way down the hallway to Artemis as Wally raced down two flights of stairs. They arrived at the doorway simultaneously, only to freeze at what they saw.

M'gann and Superboy joined them soon after, and the entire Team stood in the doorway, shocked. That is, until Superboy gave one of his blunt comments.

"I'm gonna wake him up."

He marched into the room and reached for Whisper's shoulder. But before his hand touched the younger, he was stopped by a webbed hand.

He looked at Aqualad for an explanation before a barely audible groaning reached his ears.

* * *

When Whisper woke up, he was unusually uncomfortable. He groaned lightly and peeled his eyes open. Blinking to make his vision clearer, he tensed as he realized he was being watched by five teens. While he _slept_.

Whisper straightened on the piano bench and yawned before mumbling, "Morning, guys."

"Good morning, we did not mean to wake you...," said Aqualad.

Whisper waved his hand and interrupted, "It's fine. What time is it?"

"Last time I checked, it was around 10:30," M'gann replied.

The size that Whisper's eyes grew to was almost comical. "10:30? Man, I must have been out of it. Well, thanks for the wake up call."

"Is your cough better?"

"Yeah. The medicine helped loads, Miss. M.," Whisper responded with a kind smile.

The Martian blushed profusely and said, "It was nothing."

Whisper smiled softly and turned around to the piano to collect his things. However, there was a distinct lack of a red notebook. He faced the Team to ask them if they had seen it when his eyes fell on Artemis.

Her arms were hidden behind her back and a small smirk graced her lips. Her eyes were firmly placed on her teammates. Without hesitation, Whisper pulled into a tight roll under the piano and popped up behind her. Whisper snatched the notepad back before she even knew what happened and said, "You know there's a such thing as privacy right?"

The archer jumped and spun around, only to come face to face with a thirteen-year-old holding what had been in her hands only moments before.

"How did you _do_ that?"

Whisper rolled his eyes and said, "I have skill. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hide this where _you _can't get to it."

M'gann timidly spoke up before he left the room. "I made waffles and bacon, if you're hungry."

Right on cue, his stomach let out an especially loud growl. Blushing, he mumbled, "Thanks, that's sounds great. I'll be there soon."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

"What do you think he was doing in there?"

The Team was sitting in the Cave's living room, waiting for Whisper to return from his room. A certain red-headed speedster was leading a debate on what the mountain's temporary occupant had been doing in the music room.

"Maybe he was writing songs," M'gann suggested.

Artemis snorted. "Somehow, he doesn't really seem like the kind of person to write heart-felt songs."

"Things are not always as they appear."

Before someone else could put in their opinion, another voice spoke up. "Maybe you could just ask him instead of talking behind his back."

Everyone, even Superboy, jumped. They turned to find Whisper standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Um, okay," Megan hesitantly replied. "So why were you in there?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Oh," she said, slightly disappointed she didn't get a more extensive answer.

Whisper, oblivious to her downcast expression, asked what had been on his mind since it was mentioned. "So you said you had food?"

The Martian suddenly seemed bipolar. Her face lit up and she quickly floated into the kitchen. "Yep. I made waffles and bacon, and there's OJ in the fridge." She turned to look at Whisper, who was standing at the edge of the counter, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Whisper, are you okay," M'gann asked. The rest of the Team turned in their seats to watch the scene unfold.

Whisper blinked and shook his head slightly before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...wow. That's a _lot_ of food."

It then hit the Team that this boy lived alone, in _Gotham_. He was probably lucky to get three meals a day.

Suddenly feeling awkward, M'gann blushed and said, "Well, eat up."

Whisper just smiled.

* * *

Two waffles, six pieces of bacon, 30 mL of medicine, and three cups of OJ later, Whisper was done eating. He sat down on the couch next to Wally, only to hear Black Canary's designation be announced.

Mentally reciting everything he had ever heard about the heroine, he turned his head to face the door. A blonde woman in a black shirt, black jacket, and gray tights entered the room and glanced at him curiously. Batman had already informed her of the temporary occupant of Mount Justice, but she had wondered just _who_ exactly they were dealing with. Satisfied (for now), Black Canary turned to face the team.

"Be in the training room in five."

* * *

**AN: Sigh, it's finally done! Okay and just to clear things up:**

**1) They are being called their real names depending on what they are wearing. M'gann, Wally, and Artemis are wearing civvies. Aqualad is in uniform because he doesn't want to be caught off guard. Superboy just doesn't have a name, so... Yep!**

**2) Sorry no singing for this chapter! I already have three songs he is definitely going to sing. I'm not going to put the lyrics, I'm just gonna put something like {Insert lyrics from 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift} or something. If you want to recommend songs to me, feel free, but don't feel bad if they don't get chosen. I have his entire life story planned out and I want each song to reflect that. I will be giving you the explanation for each song in each author's note, so if your confused by the songs, just read the author's note!**

**3) And lastly, I haven't said this but more reviews make me happy, and happiness makes me think more, and thinking more makes me update more, so please review!**

**-GSDLover**


	7. Utility Belt

**AN: And here it is! Woot-woot! Enjoy!**

* * *

Black Canary was currently fighting Aqualad. The remaining team members stood in a line, observing the fight. Whisper was sitting with his back against the far wall, elbow on his knees, and chin in his hand. After a few more moments the Atlantean fell to the older hero.

Black Canary helped him up before turning to face the Team. "Aqualad did good, but can anyone tell me what he did wrong?"

The answer that came was correct; however it came for the least likely source.

"His stance wasn't wide enough."

All eyes turned to the black clad figure on the ground. Black Canary raised both eyebrow and said, "Excuse me?"

Rolling his eyes, Whisper deadpanned, "His feet were too close together. It caused him to be unbalanced, allowing you to take him down."

Black Canary blinked. "How do you know this?"

The adolescent smirked and replied, "Basic combat 101."

"So you know how to fight?"

Now outright grinning evilly, Whisper held up his thumb and index finger. "Just a little bit."

The blonde hero thought back to what Batman had told her. Try to get him to show me his skills and abilities, huh? Never a better time than the present.

"Alright, then let's see how you do against Kid Flash."

The ginger smiled and strutted to the front of the circle. Whisper rose gracefully and walked to stand a few feet away from Wally. At Black Canary's, "Ready," they both went into battle stances. As soon as the word, "Go," left her lips, Wally rushed forward.

The Team expected Wally to make the first move. But, they didn't expect Whisper to duck his punch, grab his arm, elbow the speedster in the stomach, and flip him over his head. Wally landed with a loud thunk and a hologram proclaimed "Kid Flash: FAIL".

Black Canary was the first to get over the initial shock. Closing her mouth (which had been hanging open), she stuttered, "Um... Good...Good job, Whisper. How would you like to go against Superboy next?"

The raven-haired teen just shrugged and said, "Sure."

The process was repeated, just with slight altercations. Superboy waited before advancing, but his fist met thin air. Whisper had flipped over him and landed behind Superboy's back. The Kryptonian spun around and rushed forward once again. The younger jumped, used Superboy's head as a springboard, then somersaulted into a crouch at the teen's feet. Whisper sliced his leg under his opponent, catching him off guard and sending his to the ground. The Team stared in awe as the mechanical voice announced, "Superboy: FAIL."

After the downed teen had been helped up, Artemis whistled and said, "Wow, nice."

"Thanks," Whisper replied, smiling crookedly.

Black Canary took that moment to intervene. "So Whisper, you obviously have some skills, but just how good are you?"

"I could probably take you down."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. She walked to the center and took a battle stance. "Prove it."

The Team watched in anticipation as the Black Canary said, "Go."

Both fighters stayed motionless at first, surveying each other. After about twenty seconds, Black Canary made her move. She faked a punch to the right, only to follow up with a kick to the left. Whisper blocked her leg with his forearm and jumped straight up. He landed in a handstand on his rival's shoulders before twisting his hands and leaping away. Black Canary jolted slightly from the unexpected move, but soon regained her footing. Turning to face where Whisper had landed, she saw nothing. A hard elbow then landed unexpectedly on her lower back, followed closely by pressure to the back of her knees.

The heroine drove her elbow into the boy behind her and was rewarded with the tell-tale swish of air leaving his lungs. She spun around in a roundhouse kick, but was met with a hand as Whisper ducked under her leg. Keeping his hand around her ankle, he shoved his foot into her side. A precise punch was delivered to her chin, followed by an elbow to her shoulder. Whisper then shoved her leg back, and Black Canary landed on the blue circle with a _thunk_. _  
_

The inhabitants of the Cave all stared at Whisper. _No one,_ except Batman, had ever been able to take Black Canary down in hand-to-hand combat. It was unheard of. It was impossible. But a thirteen year old just did it.

Black Canary rose unsteadily to her feet. She eyed Whisper, taking in his stance. She could now see that he was trained, well trained in fact. There was a constant stiffness to his muscles and his eyes held a sharpness she had failed to notice prior to the spar. She needed to contact Batman.

Whisper was _definitely_ capable of becoming part of the Team.

* * *

When the Batcave received an incoming transmission from Black Canary, it was expected. That's why it only took Batman two minutes to gather all necessary items and Zeta to the Cave. Black Canary, the Team, and Whisper all stood in the mission room, waiting for his arrival.

Judging by the Team's confused expressions, Batman guessed Dinah hadn't filled them in. Perfect. More talking for him.

"It has come to my attention that Whisper has certain skills that would make him a valued member of this team. I sug-."

"Wait, WHAT?"

The Dark Knight turned to the teen and glared, to little effect. "As I was saying, you would be a valuable asset to the Team," he stated, now speaking directly to Whisper.

The youth scoffed and said, "I don't care. I am not joining this team."

"You would be sent to an orphanage if you don't."

"I would run away."

"We would catch you again."

"Who says you could?"

Batman paused. He had allegedly taken down Black Canary in a spar. He had to be good to do that. "We could make you one of the League's most wanted."

Whisper's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

Batman smirked (Inwardly of course). "Would you like to find out?"

The teen visibly deflated. "Fine. I'll join."

The Caped Crusader never missed a beat. "Good. Do have any powers?"

"Nope," Whisper replied, popping the "p".

"Utilities?"

Whisper smirked. "Yep."

Batman waited for further explanation but none came. "What kind," he growled.

Whisper's smirk grew. "Sorry. Classified."

The Batglare was released full force, but Whisper stood his ground. Finally, he sighed dramatically and said, "Fine. I have holographic computer gloves." He touched his right glove and a glowing blue circle appeared, hovering over his hand. After the heroes had gotten a good look, he powered it down again.

"What else?"

Whisper frowned. Darn Batman, did he have to know everything? "Grappling gun." As he said it, he reached behind his back and pulled out a sleek, black gun with a hook coming out the end.

"And how did you come by this equipment?"

The adolescent faltered. He couldn't exactly say "I stole them when I ran away from the League of Talons secret base." Instead, he vaguely answered, "I have my ways."

Batman's eyes turned to white slits, but he let it go. He would find out later. "In that case, I have some apparatus you might find useful." From the folds of his cape he produced a black utility belt, smaller than his own.

Whisper gently took the accessory from the Dark Knight's gloves, eyes wide. "Wow, um...th-thanks, I guess."

Batman just turned on his heel and took the Zeta Beam back to Gotham.

* * *

**AN: AWWWWW! Batsy is going soft. Oh well! And don't forget to send in songs people! Thanks!**

**-GSDLover**


	8. Piano

**AN: And there we go! Okay, if I ever take a long time to finish a chapter this might be why:**

**I am actually a visual kind of person, so when I'm planning a story in my head, I imagine the characters actually doing what I'm writing. I spend more time on certain 'scenes' than others. So, for example, there is obviously going to be a showdown between the Team and the League of Talons, and right now, I have six different ways I could do it. I'm playing each scenario in my head, trying to find the best fit. So, because I'm looking forward to that chapter so much, I'm spending more time on it. This chapter took me longer to write because there isn't a lot of visual to go with it and there is not much action. In a nutshell, I'm unintentionally skipping my focus around to various chapters, depending on which idea strikes my fancy. Does that make sense?**

**fmrobin fan: I'm sorry, but I am a WIMP! I won't add a chapter where Whisper sings "Sexy Back" just because I'm chicken. BUT, I WILL put an insert under one of my ****author notes where it has him doing that, just for you. It just won't be considered part of the story, okay?**

**So yeah, I need a name for his Batarangs! I can't call them Birdarangs or Wing-Dings because that has no connection to the name Whisper whatsoever. So along with those songs, I also need a name for his disc/saucers!**

**Thanks and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own YJ! DC Comics does!**

* * *

The constant thunking coming from the training room in the Cave was what prompted the Team to wander towards the noise. After Batman had left, they had given their congratulations to Whisper, then gone off to do their own activities. About ten minutes later, the sound caught the attention of the teens and they began to walk in that direction.

When they arrived, they were surprised to see Whisper chucking disc after disc at targets normally used for archery. So far, at least twenty saucers were stuck at the center of each target, and the number seemed to be growing with each toss.

Without turning around, Whisper pulled a one-handed cartwheel, simultaneously accomplishing another bullseye and saying, "Hey guys. What's up?"

M'gann timidly spoke up. "Well, we kept hearing noises in here, so we decided to see what you were doing."

Whisper casually did a backflip and landed in a crouch before throwing two discs at the targets. He straightened up and turned to face his new teammates. "Just practicing my aim."

"So I assume the supplies Batman gave you fits your needs," Aqualad questioned.

"Yeah. It has almost everything." As he talked, Whisper pulled out the belt he had been given. "Knockout gas, smoke bombs, tracers, and my personal favorite," he pulled out yet another saucer, "modified Batarangs with varying uses."

"Dude, you gotta let me try them out," an excited speedster called out.

"Really KF? You'll probably blow up the mountain." **(AN: Silly Whisper! Artemis and Aqualad do that!)**

"KF?," M'gann questioned.

Whisper answered, "Yeah, you know. KF, Kid Flash."

The Martian was suddenly struck with an epiphany and struck her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Hello Megan! You're on the Team now so we can tell you our names! My real name is M'gann M'orzz, but my Earth name is Megan Morse." The young boy gave her a sweet smile before turning to face his other teammates.

"I am Kaldur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur." Whisper nodded appreciatively.

"I don't have a name." This earned Superboy an odd glance.

"Wally." Cue snort.

"Something tells me you already know."

A cheeky smile was sent in the archer's direction. "And something tells me you're right."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the teens. Some glanced occasionally at their feet while most looked at Whisper expectantly. After a few minutes, Artemis said what was on everyone's minds. "Aren't you going to tell us your name?"

Whisper's head jerked up to stare at the Team. Yes, he liked these people, and yes, he was now part of their team, but he was paranoid. That lesson had been etched into his head at an early age. People were dangerous. Tony Zucco had shown him that, but the feeling had only increased as his training progressed. He had too many scars for him _not_ to be cautious. If he told them his real name, they would tell Batman, and Batman would act on that knowledge. Any news about Richard Grayson in Gotham would bring the Talons onto him-_hard_. He wasn't ready for that, he doubted he would ever be ready.

Trusting was something he _wasn't_ prepared for.

Not yet, if ever.

While Whisper contemplated this, the Team watched him as emotions flickered over his eyes. The rest of his face remained stoic, giving them no clue as to what he was thinking. However, his sentiments shone through his colored contacts. Surprise. Suspicion. Worry. Nervousness. When Whisper finally focused back on the teens, they had already guessed what he was going to say.

Quietly, he said, "Whisper. Just Whisper," and looked at the ground once more.

Thankfully, the Team had enough sense to drop it.

* * *

Whisper was honestly wondering how he had ever survived without this room. It had _everything._ A grand piano, every type of guitar there was, and even a drum set. Best of all, it was completely soundproof, even to Kryptonians. Yeah, he _really_ liked this room.

He opened his red notebook to the song he had been working on the previous night. He had spent three and a half hours drawing notes onto crudely made staffs; now all he needed was the lyrics, and he would be done. Playing a lively tune to warm up, Whisper settled down at the piano.

Whisper-no, Dick, he was Dick right now-glided his hands over the keys with a practiced ease. His eyes scanned the page as he started out the sad melody. He had already picked a few lines he wanted to use as lyrics, no he just had to add them in. Taking a deep breath, he began to sing. **{Insert "I'll Try" by Jesse McCartney}**

The very first line summed up his history into one sentence. He had to grow up hours after his family fell to their deaths, or face the consequences. He would never be able to regain that childish innocence he had had in youth. It was gone.

He continued to sing, pouring all his thoughts about the past few days into the empty room. The Team was asking him to be _trusting_, to be unguarded. He couldn't, but truth be told, he was lonely. He wanted friends. He wanted to be able to talk to people again. And if he had to trust his teammates to make that happen, well, he could try, couldn't he?

He had a loyalty to the Team, and he was determined not to let them down; no matter how different it may be from living on the streets. Here he was cared for, and he could-no, he _would_- adjust. Someday, he hoped he would be so at ease with them, he could confide in them. After all, they had asked why he was up last night. He had the urge to tell them about his past, his nightmare, but why? He barely knew these people, but here he was, believing in fighting the good fight.

In just a day of knowing a few teens, his world had been turned upside down. He had been taught to believe that emotions were weak, soft, and unnecessary. So far, he had only shown true emotion while singing. Everything else was just an act, a defense mechanism. The joking, the teasing, and the smirks, he used them to blend in. That way, no one would take interest in the hardened thirteen year old. But here at the Cave, each smile had a spark that hand't been there before. That hadn't been there since his family fell to their deaths.

And was it wrong to say that he was going to try to make that spark grow, to make it real? Yes, he would try.

* * *

**AN: Ta-da! ****The first song part finished! I listened to this song while writing this and I tried to put his feelings while singing this into the chapter. And as promised, here is the backstory to this song.**

**I'll Try:**** Dick wrote the music for this song after a particularly bad nightmare. After he was accepted into the Team, he decided to show his inner turmoil about that through the lyrics. It reflects his past and what he hopes to be his future.**

**I just couldn't resist having it in here! I mean, Jesse McCartney is the actor for Dick Grayson in the show, so I looked through all of his songs that I could find and picked out promising ones. So, yeah... **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! And I will change the Team's names depending on their outfit. Superhero costume=Hero name. Civvies=Real name. (In Whisper's case, if he is singing, he is Dick.) Next chapter will hopefully be up soon! And I have told myself I will not post chapters under 1,000 words like ever, so yeah. Longish chapters from here on out!**

**And if you want a more amusing look at my work, search for the YJ fanfic "Mathletes Aren't Cute".**

**Toodles and Teddy Bears! (I love chameleons!)**

**-GSDLover**


	9. Petabyte

**AN: I would like to thank ****Glimare**** for the idea for the start of this chapter! I didn't even consider hidden cameras but I love the idea! Thanks!**

**And can I just say that I got out from school early for snow and there's only some ice on the porch and grass! Not even enough to sled! NOT FAIR!**

**And is it bad when:**

**A) You look through all the episodes and issues of Young Justice just to find out if Alfred calls Dick "Master Richard" or "Master Dick" (It's Master Richard)**

**B) Watch the episode "Usual Suspects" three times in a row just to see Batman smirk/smile. (I can't believe he actually showed emotion!)**

**and**

**C) You look up "nightwing young justice" on Google Images and just look at all the pictures for hours. **

**If it's not bad, ****yippee! If it is bad, like I care?! It's Young Justice for crying out loud! How can you _not_ love it!**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

Everyone knew Batman was paranoid, so it should be expected of him to have cameras hidden everywhere. But sometimes, people forgot about the likeliness of those cameras being present. At the moment, Whisper was one of those people.

Bruce Wayne sat in the Batcave, captivated by the young boy on his computer screen. He hadn't been able to find anything on the teen, not even initials! And, to make it worse, Whisper knew his secret identity while he had nothing. To say he was curious about this adolescent was an understatement.

That's why, when Bruce just _happened_ to look at the Cave's security cameras and saw Whisper in the Music Room, he made it fullscreen and turned the audio up, because of course the cameras had microphones. He was the Goddamn Batman after all.

Whisper definitely had talent. He could play a piano and sing extraordinarily well, though Batman would never admit it. But it wasn't the sound that caught the Dark Knight's attention; it was the words.

Each line seemed to hold a hidden meaning, and it infuriated Batman that he couldn't instantly make the connection. Some lyrics had obvious meanings, while others were a mystery. It was easily understood that Whisper considered himself too mature for his age, but what caused that was unknown. He also sang about divided loyalties, but who was he divided between? Was it even a who, or a lifestyle? The Caped Crusader felt like punching a wall from aggravation.

The most obvious idea that was implied is that Whisper is new to the Team's innocence. It sounded like he wanted to fit in, be a kid again, but he wasn't sure how. Batman could empathize; he had grown up the moment he saw his parents fall to the ground in Crime Alley. He had become Batman _because_ he had become more solemn. Without an outlet for his anger, he would've gone mad. He only wished that Whisper, whoever he may really be, would find a use of crime fighting like he had, but without losing those small smiles he had seen on the boy's lips.

As Bruce turned off the video at the end of the song, he couldn't help but reminisce about his reasoning behind Batman. He stalked the night, doing all in his power to keep people from suffering like he had. But he didn't always succeed. He remembered only a few years ago, Haly's Circus had come to Gotham.

He had attended, mostly to keep up his appearance as a millionaire playboy, but now he just wished he could forget what happened.

Bruce had sat in his seat, actually enjoying the trapeze artists' performance...until the rope snapped. The youngest member of the group wasn't allowed to participate, and he had seen it all.

Bruce still remembers pushing through the crowd of screaming people, trying to reach the small boy. But, when he got to the ground level of the bid top, the youngest Grayson was nowhere to be found.

Almost a year later, the Bludhaven Police had found four quarts of blood-the boy's blood- in the woods, but no body. He was immediately announced deceased.

It enraged Bruce to no end to think that if he had just been a little faster that night at the circus, he could've gotten to the boy before he had disappeared. Then Richard Grayson would be alive.

* * *

After recording his latest song on his computer glove, Whisper hid his notebook in his room and went to go find the Team. The group of teens were all lounging around the living room; and of course, they were talking about him.

Noting that this was the second time he had caught the Team conversing about him behind his back, Whisper leaned against the doorframe and waited for someone to notice him.

"So, what do you think of Whisper," Artemis inquired.

"He seems nice, but he's so thin! Do you think I should make him some cookies?" Whisper couldn't help but feel excitement bubble inside of him. He hadn't had cookies in ages! The closest thing he had come to was a soft pretzel from a street vendor, and that just wasn't the same.

Superboy merely grunted, "He's fine."

"I believe he is a valuable asset to the Team, but we must remain wary. We have no idea who he really is or where he came from." A mental applaud was given to the level-headed Atlantean. Whisper knew from experience that being paranoid is actually very helpful, despite the fact that he would never willingly betray his new team.

Then, of course, Kid Flash had to input his opinion. "I think he's alright. Kinda mysterious but he's really good at fighting. I mean, you guys saw him take down Black Canary! That dude has some _insane_ moves! Wait, he doesn't actually think I'll blow up the mountain does he?! I'm not _that_ accident prone! And the explosion on Santa Prisca was _not_ my fault...entirely anyway. Um, so, oh yeah! Whisper, right! He's cool but I really want to learn what kind of tech he has in those gloves! Those babies have to have some high gigabytes! Wonder how many they have..."

His speech was cut short by the concise reply of, "One petabyte."

The entirety of the Team jumped and turned to stare at the figure in the door; Wally out of awe of his words and the rest of the Team out of shock.

The red-head finally reclaimed his words and began to stutter, "But-but a petabyte...that's not-so much informa...How?!"

All he got in response was a cheeky smile and the quip of, "Sorry, trade secret," leaving Wally's face to fall from disappointment.

Whisper didn't bother telling them what most of the text on his gloves contained.

* * *

**AN: And...voila! This is kinda a filler chapter to explain _why_ everyone thinks Richard Grayson is dead and to show that Whisper gloves contain some important stuff. Remember that about the gloves! **

**And a petabyte has enough storage space to hold "approximately 20 million 4-door filing cabinets full of text." I got that info from ' '.**

**And a normal human body has around six quarts of blood, so four quarts from a skinny nine-year old? If the blood was taken all at once, then he would definitely be dead. If say, the Talons took a pint a week, then that'd be no problem. But of course that didn't occur to Bats or the Bludhaven PD, so yeah. **

**And since Wally is a scientist, I'm gonna guess he knows the science-y part of computers, but he's not as computer savvy as Whisper.**

**Wow, I did two feeling-explainer chapters, like, back to back. I feel accomplished!**

**-GSDLover**


	10. Clay

**AN: OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH! Look up 'DC Nation Trailer (*2013*)' on YouTube right NOW! At the four second mark, it shows Flash running somewhere icy and he says, "I got this," and I am 99.9% darn sure that that is BART ALLEN saying that! Listen to the video! BART ALLEN IS IN THE FLASH SUIT! I'M GONNA DIE! **

**Aaaaannnndddd scene!**

**I'm serious though, look at the video. **

**And if you disagree with the Zeta Tube numbers in this chapter, you're an idiot, 'cause I looked it up on Wiki AND double-checked it with the shows. (But the Team's numbers will be slightly different 'cause Robin never existed, yata yata yata.)**

**And I was rereading Issue 11 of Young Justice ****and Robin said that Ra's Al Ghul was the only enemy of the Dynamic Duo that knew their secret identities.**

**So that means either Selina Kyle isn't considered an enemy and/or doesn't know their secret IDs...**

**...or...**

**Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman have their heads up their butts and their ISN'T A CATWOMAN ON EARTH 16!**

**What is going on here? Is there a Selina Kyle but no Catwoman or does she just not exist altogether?! I must knoooowww!**

**Wow, two rants in ten minutes. I am feeling the aster. BTW, this takes place in 'Downtime', 'kay?**

* * *

Whisper decided that he _detested_ being covered in slime, goop, mud-anything of the sort. But, right now, he _really_ hated clay. The Team had just gotten their behinds handed to them by a new villain calling himself 'Clayface'. Apparently, Batman had to step in and save them, he wasn't quite sure what happened because he had been unconscious at the time. Yeah, he _really_ hated clay.

So five hours and three showers later, Whisper was sitting in the living room watching TV. Wally and Artemis had gone home, apparently having 'tons' of homework, and Kaldur had gone to visit friends in Atlantis. Superboy and M'gann had gone grocery shopping, but it was pretty obvious that they were making out at some park bench. So, the teen was stuck alone, completely bored out of his mind.

That is, until the Zeta Tubes announced, "Batman 0-2."

Whisper instantly flipped off the couch and cartwheeled through the hallways into the Mission Room. When he came into sight of the Dark Knight, Whisper stopped his constant tumbling and stood straight...with his feet in the air and his hands on the floor.

Looking up (or is it down?) at Batman, the adolescent smirked and said, "'Sup Bats? Need something?"

'Bats' raised an eyebrow at Whisper from under the cowl before asking, "Is any other members of the Team here?"

Whisper flipped to his feet, crossed his arms, and shook his head ruefully. "Nope. Artemis and Wally are at home, Kaldur's in Atlantis, and the two alien love-birds are making out somewhere near the grocery store."

Amused at the descriptions given to him, and having already guessed as much, Batman launched into the real reason he had come to the Cave. "It seems as if you're all alone and rather bored." He paused, waiting to see what Whisper would do next.

The teen narrowed his eyes and inquired, "Aaaannnnd?"

"I was wondering if you would like to visit my house."

If Whisper had been drinking water, he definitely would've done a spit-take. His arms fell limply to his sides, dark brown eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Yes, it _literally_ fell open. "You...wait, WHAT!?"

A small sigh escaped the hero's lips as he said, "Since you obviously know my identity, there isn't any harm in allowing you to see my house." Batman left out that he wanted to make sure that Whisper was adjusting okay. He made grown men cry; he couldn't afford to look comforting and caring.

After a few seconds, Whisper managed to compose himself and let out a shaky, "Sure. Yeah...that'd be great actually." He hadn't been in an actual house since...wow. He didn't even remember. Does an abandoned apartment or a circus' train car count?

The Dark Knight didn't respond; he merely turned on his heel and headed back towards the tubes. Whisper followed, and soon, they were being sent to a run-down telephone box in a Gotham alley. The pair approached a large object hidden in the shadows, and when Whisper recognized the angular design of the Batmobile, a crazed smile broke across his face.

"Awesome."

* * *

The Caped Crusader's car pulled smoothly in the Batcave, stopping only feet away from the elderly butler waiting for it's return. After Batman jumped from the car, Alfred began to speak. "Master Bruce, I assume your trip to Mount Justice was-." His sentence was cut short when he noticed the second passenger vault from the seat onto the cave floor. A whispered, "Whoa," could be heard and the unfamiliar sound alone startled the Batcave's inhabitants.

Needless to say, Whisper was not expecting to be immediately bombarded by bats upon his entrance to Batman's secret lair. When he saw a dark mass moving towards him, he instinctively put his arms up to protect his head. However, a purely joyous smile broke across his face as he felt their leathery wings whip past his hair. As he turned to follow the nocturnal mammals' flight pattern, a light-hearted cackle echoed throughout the cavern. Whisper turned his attention back to the other humans in the cave when an accented voice proclaimed, "You must be young Mr. Whisper. Master Bruce had told me so much about you."

The person in question turned to face Alfred, before smirking and saying, "So Bruce talks about me, huh."

Oblivious to the now de-cowled hero's glare, the butler replied, "But of course, he finds it infuriating that he doesn't know who you are." Amused by the teen's grin growing bigger, Alfred continued. "Now, unless you two would like to wait until this evening to eat, I suggest you head towards the main section of the house. Lunch is on the table."

Batman proceeded to dress in civvies and ride in the elevator with Whisper at his side. Neither of them were stupid enough to pass up a chance to enjoy Alfred's cooking, even though the younger had never had it.

* * *

One lasagna later, Bruce and Whisper were sitting at the dining room table, stomach's content. Bruce was skimming the paper while Whisper stared off into space. The silence was broken when Bruce found a small article about the 'voice from the rooftops' having seemingly disappeared. Glancing at Whisper, the Dark Knight recalled the video of him singing, and let his curiosity get the best of him.

"You know, there's an article in here about someone that used to sit on a ledge and sing at night. He hasn't been seen for a few days though."

Whisper stiffens the slightest bit, and cautiously says, "That's interesting."

"Kinda funny how you used to stay in Gotham, and when you moved to the mountain, the singing stopped."

"Sure, yeah, funny."

"Almost like you were connected to it."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Then how did you get money for food?"

"I-," the teen paused, closed his mouth, then opened it again and replied with a question. "Are you always this infuriating?"

"Usually more so with Superman."

"Good to know."

A short silence came between the two, but was once again broken by the resident billionaire. "So, you sing."

Whisper blushed slightly before looking down. "A little; you know, here and there."

"The newspaper seems to think much more highly of you."

"At least I'm not affiliated with rumors about having a glare that can cause men to go insane."

"My glare _does_ cause men to go insane."

"Oh please, that glare couldn't scare a kitten."

"I find that highly offending."

"The Dark Knight of Gotham is actually feeling emotion? I'm shocked."

"I'm a man of many surprises."

"Sure you are."

"I can prove it to you."

"Just try to."

"How would you like to go shopping for some new clothes?"

For the second time during the conversation, Whisper was caught off guard. "Excuse me?"

Bruce leaned his elbows on the table and steepled his hands. "So far, I've only seen you in one outfit. You need more than that to wear."

Hesitantly, the adolescent nodded. "I guess you're right."

Ten minutes later, the pair were riding in Bruce's Lamborghini, heading for Gotham City Mall.

* * *

"Just come out."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I look like an idiot."

"It can't be that bad."

"I'm wearing bright _yellow_! Of course it's that bad!"

Whisper stood in the changing stall, staring at the mirror before him. Bruce, the 'clothing genius' that he was, had helped him pick out some outfits. He had already tried on a few hoodies and jeans, but then he had gotten to the jacket. It was red with yellow designs, and even though he complained it was too bright, he knew that wasn't the real problem. What really bothered him was how similar the coloring was to his old costume. He didn't think about his family much if he could help it, but when he did, it wasn't exactly a 'fun' event.

Whisper took a deep breath before calling over the door, "Look, I don't like it. End of story, okay?"

A resigned sigh could be heard right before a barely audible, "Fine."

Releasing a breath in relief, he shed the jacket and hung it back on its hanger. Whisper turned back to the mirror and visibly winced at his bare chest.

Scars adorned every visible area of skin, the work of the Talons. He tried to keep his arms covered at all times around the Team; if they saw just the cicatrixes on his forearms, they would overreact. He didn't even want to think about what they would say about the ones on his torso. Composing himself once again, he continued trying on various articles of clothing, checking with Bruce occasionally on wether or not he should get it.

It was a new experience to say the least. Back with the circus, he had never gone shopping. Most of his clothes had consisted of hand-me-downs and hand-sewn garments, but here he was, at a mall, shopping with a billionaire. Truth be told, it was nice having Bruce around. He may be rough and tough as Batman, but in public the two exchanged friendly banter and bonded quickly. Both males were surprised at just _how_ quickly they bonded.

Bruce found himself feeling protective of his companion. He's never felt like that with anyone other than Alfred, and it was never to this degree. That this boy had impacted him so immensely in such a short time, it was almost miraculous.

Whisper discovered he was much more at ease with Bruce than with others. He joked around, actually joked, which was something he hadn't truly done since his parents were still alive. Even though happiness was an almost forgotten feeling, Whisper was glad he was experiencing it, even if it was to a small degree.

After the modeling ceased and Bruce bought around $200 dollars worth of clothes (He was a billionaire, why not?), they headed to the food court. They each got a bottle of water and sat at a table in the corner, glancing around them every now and then out of paranoia.

Bruce was explaining his reluctance to get a pet when Whisper spoke a question that had been bothering him for days.

"Hey, if someone can be overwhelmed, and someone can be underwhelmed, why can't anyone just be whelmed?"

Bruce choked lightly on the water he had been drinking before regaining control of his lungs. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

Marveling at the boy's antics, Bruce shrugged and took another swig of water.

"Humph." Whisper momentarily slouched down in his seat before popping right back up again. "Alright, then what about this? If dislike is the opposite of like, then is the disaster the opposite of _aster_? You know, instead of things going wrong, they go right!"

"An aster is a flower," Bruce deadpanned.

Whisper frowned before looking at the food court's clock. "Hey, it's almost 5. We better head back to the Manor."

Bruce mentally let out a sigh of relief that the matter of made up words was dropped. He didn't know how wrong he was.

* * *

**AN: Wow, this is like, really long for me. I was going to continue it into the rest of the episode, but I just love leaving it at this, so oh well. Can I just say that if Bruce seems OOC, it's because in YJ, they portray him as _human_, so I'm following that trend. Also, he's feeling love (Not that kind, the fatherly kind) for someone other than his stoic, British butler.**

**And I used the thing with the bats in the Batcave as foreshadowing, and because I love that scene from the Dark Knight Rises. MOST EPICEST MOVIE EVER! So, yeah, symbolism and all that crud.**

**And OMG, did y'all SEE the episode 'Fix'? Wow, just wow. I decided I'm gonna start another story soon that has a bunch of oneshots about what I thing Dick was thinking or feeling at certain points in the series. (Like, for example, when he's falling in Performance or when he tells L'gann about Kaldur and Artemis.) So yeah, be on the look out for that. **

**Uuuum, I think that's it. Soooo, yeah. Bye!**

**-GSDLover**


	11. Basketball

**AN: Okay, here it is! This is the second part of the 'Downtime' episode from Whisper's point of view. As for the question about his Batarangs, I'm leaning towards calling them 'whisps', so thanks for the idea!**

**youngjusticefanatic: I thought the same thing when I wrote it, so I'm doing that in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly. **

* * *

Bruce and Whisper arrived back at the Manor around 5:30, just in time for dinner to be taken out of the oven. The capellini d'angelo was delicious, to no one's surprise, and the pair pretended not to notice when Alfred started calling the teen 'Master Whisper'. After they each had a heaping helping of both pasta and cookies, they retired to the living room and chattered idly. A few minutes passed before Alfred sauntered in, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Master Bruce, you might like to turn on Channel 7. It seems the latest speculation of your love life is circling the media."

The TV was instantly switched on and flipped to the said station, where a grainy picture of a man and a teenager walking side-by-side was shown. The image shrunk, soon becoming the background to the a spunky blond.

"You heard it here first folks. Bruce Wayne, playboy billionaire, has been seen with a young teen at Gotham City Mall as of earlier today. Many believe the boy to be Mr. Wayne's long lost son, but others are not so sure. So far, we have received calls from past girlfriends claiming that the teen has their eyes or nose, but his heritage has not been confirmed. We-hold on folks. We've got another call coming in. It's from Bruce Wayne himself! Mr Wayne, this is Channel 7 Today, and you are live."

While Whisper had been laughing manically at the conspiracies being thought of, Bruce had picked up the phone and dialed the news station's number as fast as was humanly possible. He was _not_ getting into another 'long lost son' scandal. The last one was bad enough.

_"Hello, this is Bruce Wayne. I would just like to put all these rumors to rest. The boy in that picture is _not_ my son, I'm merely taking care of him for a friend."_

The reporter seemed downcast for a moment before her annoyingly perky smile reappeared, just as bright as before. "Well, we appreciate your input, Mr. Wayne. Thank you."

_"Your welcome. Good-bye."_

A distinct click was heard on TV, whereas, in Wayne Manor, a cackling Whisper had turned to face Bruce, who had a large scowl adorning his face.

"Oh my," the teen gasped. "They actually thought I…what the…your son!? How stupid are they?"

His only answer was a pointed stare from Bruce. Whisper had the decency to blush and calm his laughter.

"Not that, you would be a bad dad, I mean, you've been nicer to me than anyone I've met since-." Whisper cut off. He was about to say 'since my parents died', but he had to remember who he was talking to. Bruce wasn't a replacement for those who he had lost, he was just someone who was kind enough to spend his day with a kid with no living family members. No matter how much the part of him that still reminisced about his circus days wanted to get closer to the residents of Wayne Manor, he had to realize he didn't really belong here.

He was a lethal assassin, trained by the best (He had even had private lessons with Deathstroke the Terminator), and taught to have no mercy. It didn't matter that he'd never wanted to be that, it didn't matter he dreamed of still being with his family. It was _what_ he was; what he was molded to be, and he couldn't afford to get attached to anything. If the Justice League found out, he would probably be on the run again within the hour. He was already starting to actually laugh around Bruce, if that continued, then-.

"Master Whisper? Are you well?"

The youth was jerked out of his thoughts by the worried voice of Alfred. Whisper jumped and met the concerned stares of both Bruce and Alfred, letting out a half attentive, "Huh?"

"You spaced out for a minute," Bruce explained. "Are you okay? Do you need to go lie down?"

Whisper pulled up his holo-computer, checked the time, then powered it down again. "No thanks. But it's getting late, I need to head back to the mountain. The others are probably wondering where I am."

The butler and master exchanged a brief glance before Alfred strolled out into the hallway and Bruce turned to face the restless teen. "I'll tell the Team your staying with me tonight. Alfred's already preparing a bed in the guest room." Before Whisper so much as had a chance to reply, Bruce stalked out, leaving Whisper to wonder what had just happened.

* * *

"Whoa. Is this Bruce's?"

Whisper was being escorted to his guest room by Alfred when he had peeked into an open door and seen something he had not expected to see. Rings, balance beams, and a rope net that led from floor to ceiling adorned the room, just begging Whisper to try them out.

Alfred came up beside the teen and gazed nostalgically around the room. "Yes, Master Thomas had it installed when Master Bruce was but a boy. I fear it is rather unused nowadays."

"Oh. Okay. Um, so my room?"

The pair continued down the hallway before reaching an ajar door. A bed, dresser, and trunk could be made out in the gloom, with a sliver of moonlight shining through the window. Whisper walked into the room, where he found the pajamas he had just gotten today (Bruce had insisted on a Batman T-shirt and pants) laying on his bed. Whisper turned to Alfred, and in the dim light, the butler could make out a half-smile before he heard the softly spoken, "Thanks," that was obviously meant to be a dismissal. Alfred gave his own small grin back before he closed the door and left the boy to a hopefully dreamless sleep.

* * *

**(AN: Imagine all of this is underlined, 'cause Doc Manager hates me.)**His gut instinct was his first warning. His second warning was the fact he was a _part_ of the crowd. No matter what, he was always either a late arrival or a performer in his dreams. They never began with him watching the show from the very beginning.

Then he saw the people occupying the trapeze. The usual assortment was there: his parents, his aunt and uncle, and his cousin, but there were also seven shadowed figures standing above the audience. He didn't scream when his family fell, only winced. He'd seen it in his dreams enough to be able to block off the pain. 

But he didn't react when six more people fell. He could't tell who they were, their faces were blurry and unclear, so why should he have mourned for those he didn't know? The seventh shape met the ground, and suddenly, he could tell_ who_ was laying broken and bloody on the ground.

The frozen faces of Wally, Artemis, Superboy, M'gann, and Kaldur all stared glassy-eyed into space, causing Whisper to flinch away. Then, his eyes landed on the other two bodies. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the thin man clothed in a freshly-pressed suit, surrounded by a pool of blood. However, he didn't break down until the seventh face caught his eye. 

Bruce, Batman, the Goddamn _Dark Knight_, laid motionless on the ground. He knew who did it, the same person who killed his parents: Tony Zucco. But Zucco was in prison, out of his reach, unable to hurt anyone again.

Is that why it made sense when Whisper looked down at his hands and saw two bolts? The very same bolts that belonged on the trapeze rigging. Is that why it made sense that Whisper was the one who killed them? Because Zucco was locked up and unable to murder another family?

The horrible truth of it was, the only reason it made sense was because that was his purpose. To kill, to murder, to _assassinate._

And his mission had just been accomplished.

* * *

Waking up with terror grasping at his very being was starting to get old for Whisper. Every night, he had a nightmare, something that intertwined his lack of family and his life with the Talons. He hated everything about those dreams, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He was powerless.

But, just because he was impotent in that sense, didn't mean he wasn't capable of other things. And if he was able to do other things, then that gave him something to do with his restless limbs. Whisper's mind instantly flew to the room that he had discovered earlier while walking to his room with Alfred. The boy glanced at the plain, digital clock on the dresser and grimaced.

3:14. He definitely wasn't getting anymore sleep tonight. Whisper nimbly hopped out of bed and changed into his normal attire of black hoodie and skinny jeans, before opening the door and creeping down the hall. Upon arriving at the desired room, he shut the door and quickly found the light switch. The gymnastic equipment shown in all it's glory did little to raise his spirits, but it didn't stop him from immediately heading towards the rings.

* * *

Bruce watched the screen in front of him, cowl down and chin resting on his clenched hands. He had arrived back from a rather peaceful patrol to receive a request from Alfred to turn on the security footage from his childhood acrobatic room. One could say he was rather surprised to see his latest guest to be using the equipment with practiced ease.

He had known that Whisper was agile, but he didn't know that he was _this_ skilled. Bruce watched with baited breath as the teen flipped off the rings onto the balance post. His foot slipped, and Whisper caught himself with a back bend but his back still crashed into the wall. Suddenly, Whisper spun on his heel and punched the wall, leaving a small crater where his fist had been.

Bruce turned to Alfred, a request fresh on his lips.

* * *

Whisper caught the rings with his hands once again and poised with his lower frame suspended above him. Slowly, he lowered his nether body and mumbled out a barely audible, "Just an assassin," before flipping once more. Whisper angled his body so that he would land on the balance post, but his aim was off and he tripped, sending him falling towards the floor. Letting his instinct take over, he twisted his body and shot right into a back handspring, but still rammed his back into the wall. He barely registered his actions, too caught up in his thoughts to perceive what was around him.

Whisper was never supposed to make friends, heck, he wasn't even supposed to escape and become a part of the real world. He had been sculpted to be a killer, not a hero. His life had been decided for him. He was the best of the Talons, rivaled only by one: his former mentor, but that didn't matter. He didn't matter, he wasn't a boy who had to deal with post-traumatic he was a biological creature made for programming.

He was 'just and assassin'.

He didn't want to be that, he didn't want to do that, he wanted to be his own person, he wanted to be something his parents would be proud of.

Not 'just an assassin'.

_CRACK._

Whisper blinked guiltily at the newly-made depression in the wall, let out a deep breath, and walked over to one of the many benches along the wall. He rested his head in his hands, feeling the sweat dripping through his bangs.

After a few moments, the door creaked open, and the teen's head jerked up. He was definitely surprised to see Alfred's composed face at this hour, but was even more shocked at Alfred's next statement.

"Master Bruce would like to see you."

Whisper nodded and rose, following the butler to the back of the mansion. He realized soon enough that he was being led to the back door, and when he walked out into the backyard, he only just managed to catch the basketball thrown at him. Whisper knew what basketball was, he had played with his dad back at the circus, but he'd never played it at 3:30 in the morning. "What's this?"

The teen detected the slightest smirk on Bruce's face, but expected the beat-around-the-bush approach that was sure to come. "Training exercise. Hand-eye coordination."

Whisper was sent back to his past games with his father and he fell into the familiar pattern. "One on one?"

"If you think you can handle it." The reply sounded so much like something his father would say, he couldn't help the small grin that appeared.

Not replying, he sent the ball hurtling back towards Bruce.

Even though he could never escape his past completely, he could always pretend it wasn't there.

* * *

**AN: Finally! It took me forever to get this done! And don't even get me started on how Doc Manager erased part of my work at one point. *Sigh*. But it's done! Read and Review!**

**-GSDLover**


	12. Headache

**AN: Voila! Sorry it's a little short, but I didn't feel like writing out everything that happened in the episode, so I focused on what was different. **

**Disclaimer: Me no own. *SOB***

* * *

That moment when you wake up with a headache in the middle of the desert is not a fun one, especially when said desert is below freezing because it's nighttime. Whisper now knew that firsthand.

He had woken up with a splitting headache without any idea of where he was or how he got there. The last thing he remembered was spending the night in a run-down alley in Star City, sometime in March; now he was stranded in the middle of a desert, with the only landmark being a outcropping of rock in distance.

Once Whisper reached a high point, in other words the rock outcropping, he pulled up his holo-computer, once again silently thanking the fact that he had been wise enough to snag one when he escaped. According to his glove, he was in Bialya, which explained the Bialyan soldiers he had seen earlier, and it was definitely _not _March.

First thing was first, he had to figure out how to get back to a populated area, the U.S. preferably, and his best chance was to tail the troopers. Calling to mind everything he had ever learned about stealth, Whisper set off after the vehicle.

* * *

Artemis could not believe her luck. She was stranded in the desert with Kid Flash and a Martian who claimed that claimed they were all a team. So when 'Megan' said she could restore their memories of the past few months, it was understandable that Artemis didn't want the hero to go into her head. But, in the end, she concurred and after the ordeal was done with, she was glad.

The archer looked at her teammates, basking in their newly uncovered memories, before a sudden realization hit them all at once.

"Aqualad and Whisper!"

* * *

So far, Whisper's hunch hadn't given him his desired information, but he had learned many interesting things. For example, a raven-haired teen who displayed super strength, invulnerability, and a nasty temper had been captured by the Bialyans. Also, Psimon, the telepathic villain whose file Whisper had read when he was with the Talons, seemed to be involved in whatever had caused him to come here. And lastly, he really hated that he was wearing black… in the desert… during the daytime.

Whisper had discovered differences in himself also. He wasn't near as skinny as he used to be, and even though hunger clawed at his stomach, he didn't feel like he was about to pass out from it. Whatever had happened in the past six months, it had caused him to have access to an abundance of food, and judging by his new hoodie and jeans, new clothes.

At that moment, he was crouched in a shadowy corner of the tent where Psimon and the animal-like teen were. He continuously kept up the mental blocking technique he had learned from his old mentor, making sure he wouldn't be detected. Whisper didn't have to worry about being found by the scientists; they were having too much fun shocking their new 'toy', A.K.A. Mr. Tall, Dark-haired, and Angry.

The teen remained hidden when a slight blemish appeared in the air near the tent door. He also didn't move when the blur became a green girl with red hair, nor when Psimon and the Martian had all all-out mental brawl. He was still in the same position when the teens were joined by three more; a red-headed male, a blonde female, and a dark-skinned male. He easily recognized the red-head as Kid Flash, the one with gills as Aqualad, and even though he had no idea what she was doing there, the blonde as Artemis Crock, daughter of Sportsmaster. However, when the dark-haired boy cocked his head as if listening to something, Whisper decided unless he wanted to be found by the Justice League, he should split.

The teen inched his way towards the tent flap, hoping he wouldn't be found. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, and before he had even moved five yards away from the exit, his path was blocked by the dark-haired teen. Gazing up from his position on the floor, Whisper summed up his situation with, "Crap."

* * *

When Superboy heard the sixth heartbeat, he thought it was one of the knocked out scientists, but soon he realized it was too fast to belong to someone unconscious. Tilting his head, he listened harder and made out barely audible scuffing sounds, coming from behind him. He immediately alerted the Team via mind link, and moved to intercept the source of the sound.

He had been expecting a guard or scientist, not his only teammate that was not accounted for. Reminding himself that Whisper didn't know who he was, Superboy almost missed the muttered, "Crap."

Observing the boy positioned on the floor, the clone took in the tense muscles and fleeting eyes. Superboy mentally called the rest of the Team over, never taking his eyes off Whisper, who visibly stiffened further when Superboy was joined by four others. A comparison to a cornered animal came to mind, and the clone couldn't help but agree. No matter how much Whisper tried to hide it, he was scared. His eyes alone spoke volumes.

Slowly, Whisper rose, glancing from teen to teen, never keeping his sight on one team member for too long. Aqualad was the first to speak, using his calm, steady voice. "It is okay. We will not hurt you. I'm assuming you've lost some of your memories?"

His only reply was a short nod, and that alone urged the Atlantean on. "My name is Aqualad, we are teammates. If you allow her to, Miss Martian can restore your lost memories."

"Somehow," Whisper spoke softly, "I don't really believe that I work for the Justice League."

Miss Martian impulsively jumped in. "But you do! We're a team, all six of us!"

"Uh-huh," he said, clearly not believing it. No one noticed his left foot slide a few inches to the left.

The Martian didn't notice the sarcasm in his voice and replied exuberantly, "Yes! It's you, me, Kid Flash, Artemis, Aqualad, and Superboy. We're a team!"

Whisper didn't reply, only stayed rooted to the spot. Suddenly, he thrust himself into a backflip over Miss Martian's head and landed away from the group of teens. Artemis sent a net arrow to stop him, but he merely rolled aside, also avoiding Kid Flash's wild grab for his leg. Whisper made to run, but an invisible force grabbed his middle and lifted him in the air. Legs flailing, the teen's eyes grew wide and he let out a strangled, "Let me go!"

Miss Martian winced from the pure fear radiating from Whisper, but she continued to suspend him in midair. Aqualad stepped forward and held his hands in a placating gesture. "Please, we are trying to help you-" He was cut off by a panicked, "You've got a funny way of showing it!"

Seeing no other option, Aqualad turned to Miss Martian and said, "Do it." She nodded and her eyes began glowing a vibrant green. Above the Team's heads, Whisper stopped flailing and his eyes fell shut. The four remaining adolescents waited patiently, eyeing the Martian and young boy. After several minutes, Whisper's eyes shot open and he glanced down at Miss Martian, offering her a sheepish smile. "Uh… thanks. Do you think you can let me down now?"

During the ride back home to America, the Team wisely did not ask any questions about Whisper's extreme reaction to seeing them (Most of them were too busy playing with their new pet, Sphere). Miss Martian, however, mulled over what she had seen of his memories. It had been fuzzy, but she had made out the fear and wariness he had felt in the months before he had met the Team. For the first time, a member of the Team knew something about the past of their newest member, even though it just added more mystery to the puzzle.

* * *

**AN: Okay, can I just say, I took me about two hours straight to write this, so yeah. And Miss Martian restored Aqualad's memories before she went off to help Superboy, so that is how he knows who the rest of the Team is.**

***WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR 'THE RUNAWAYS' EPISODE OF YJ AHEAD!***

**Okay, what the heck! NOOOOOO! Not Jaime! Take L'agann instead! Just don't take away the Beetle, PLEEEEAAASSE! And is anyone else jealous of Sam's amazing good looks, despite her being a cartoon? But still, Green Beetle, I trusted you and your creepy yet cute smile! Why did you betray me!? WHY!?**

**Read and review please!**

**-GSDLover**


	13. Guitar, School, and Chess

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update, I wasn't really excited to write this chapter. Oh well.**

**Okay, since Robin wasn't in 'Targets' or 'Terrors', I'm just gonna have the day, a short description of what Whisper has done so far during said day, and a short snippet that was a big moment between him and a member of the Team on that day. And the days of the week are correct, I used common sense and did the math!**

**Last night, my sister came home from college and had dinner with the family. One of her friends had told her a riddle and it's answer, so she decided to tell me while we were eating. Now lets make something clear. The friend that told her the riddle is a college student. I am in middle school. He is almost 22. I am 13. He does riddles all the time. I rarely do them. It took him over 3 weeks to figure out the answer.**

**I solved it in under 20 minutes.**

* * *

Thursday morning, September 7:

Whisper had been bored out of his mind after Aqualad had gotten that call from Red Arrow. He had met the solo hero a couple weeks prior, and after several accusations, a glare-down, and a threat or two, they mutually decided to dislike each other. So following an hour of training, he ventured to the Music Room. After playing a warm ups on the acoustic guitar, he decided to play a song from his first few months on the run. A nostalgic grin on his face, Whisper began the first few notes. **{Insert 'Running Away' by Jesse McCartney}**

* * *

Artemis was watching a cheesy horror movie in the Cave, enjoying the quiet. Gotham Academy hadn't started school yet, and she was trying to use what little free time she had left to relax. The archer had stayed the night, and had heard Aqualad leave earlier. After a while, she grew bored of the horrible acting and took a walk around the mountain; however, she wasn't expecting to hear the faint sound of music. Curiosity piked, she rushed towards the direction of the noise. When Artemis reached a closed door, she realized it was where she had found Whisper asleep his first night at the Cave. Eyebrows furrowed, she snuck the door open and peeked inside. Whisper was sitting with his back to the door, strumming an acoustic guitar, and singing. Artemis forgot all former suspicions and listened in awe to the lyrics.

Running away? Was Whisper trying to get away from someone? If so, then she could definitely relate. The blonde leaned on the doorway, unconsciously tapping her foot to the rhythm. Despite the mystery-shrouded singer, the song was actually pretty good, not that she would ever admit it. At the last note, Artemis decided to make her presence known.

"Did you write that yourself?"

* * *

When Whisper had started playing, he didn't expect for anyone to hear him. He especially didn't expect for that 'anyone' to be Artemis, who apparently had been leaning against the doorframe for the majority of the song. That's why when Artemis asked, "Did you write that yourself," Whisper jumped, shrieked, and spun around in under a second. The teen inwardly cringed that he had been caught off guard, by the protege of _Green_ _Arrow_ no less. That man was very bad at being stealthy, but Whisper felt a little better at the fact that she grew up with the Shadows.

So, the only thing his shocked brain could come up with was, "Uh...ye-yeah?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the frazzled state of the newest addition to the Team. "You sure about that?"

Whisper blushed and took the guitar strap off, leaning the instrument against the wall. Composing himself, the adolescent turned around and nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Artemis wasn't sure what tempted her to smile; maybe it was that connection she felt with Whisper, but she smiled nonetheless. The archer sincerely said, "It's nice. How come you didn't tell us you could sing?"

The younger's face blushed further and he shrugged. "I didn't think it was that important," he mumbled.

Whisper earned a scoff as a reply. Kindess shone in Artemis' gray-blue eyes as she honestly said, "Honestly, you're pretty good. You really don't give yourself enough credit." With that, the blonde turned and walked down the hallway, leaving Whisper in silence.

* * *

Thursday afternoon, September 7:

Megan and newly-dubbed 'Connor Kent' walked into the Cave, each mulling over the day's events. The pair walked into the kitchen to see Whisper and Artemis lounging in the living room, watching TV. The youngest seemed to be slightly uncomfortable, glancing periodically at the archer, but neither aliens noticed it upon their arrival.

Artemis spoke up first, turning around in the couch and facing her teammates. "So, how was your first day of school?"

The Martian immediately perked up and began to explain, in detail, what had happened that day. Conner, however, merely went to sit beside Whisper on the couch and brood. After a few moments, the silence between the two was broken by the smallest.

"So...what was your first day like?"

Conner grunted and said, "It was okay, just weird. Why? Haven't you ever been?"

Shifting his gaze to his lap, Whisper spoke softly. "No. I've always been home schooled." He didn't mention that his 'teachers' included his mom, who used to be a professional trapeze artist, and a ruthless killer. "Plus, I doubt I'd be very good at making friends even if I did go."

Connor looked at the youth beside him, eyebrows furrowed. He felt an odd sensation inside of him, one that only appeared when he was around M'gann. Brushing it off, he awkwardly put one hand on his companion's shoulder and gave a light smile. "You seem pretty good at making friends to me." **(AN: No, not that feeling. He's feeling protective, like a big brother kind of feeling.)**

* * *

Friday midday, September 15:

To put it lightly Whisper was bored. No missions had been given to the Team as a whole, and with Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad at Belle Reve (He had 'accidentally' overheard the mission briefing), the only people around were Wally and Artemis, who were always arguing with each other. So, Batman, being the amazing detective he was, had noticed, and once again invited the teen to the mansion.

Whisper and Alfred were currently neck and neck in a grueling chess game. Whisper had never played it officially, but he had been forced to strategize battle plans with figurines, which wasn't that different. After a few more moves, the butler had him cornered and he reluctantly admitted defeat.

"Don't feel bad, Master Whisper. I have been doing this for far longer than you."

Whisper let out a light laugh. "Oh, I know. I should've never played against someone who has a glare that can make Bats quiver in his boots."

He only received a smirk in reply as Alfred headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Left alone, Whisper decided to join Bruce, who was in the Batcave investigating a string of robberies. Hopping up one the edge of the computer, Whisper tilted his head at the man before him.

"So, watcha doing?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow before turning back to his work.

"Right. I already knew that. So watcha gonna do when you're done?"

A slight shrug was the only answer Whisper was given.

Scowling, the boy pulled up his holo-computer and started looking up pictures of funny elephants (Why not? He practically grew up with Zitka as a pet). Half an hour passed and Bruce finally finished his work on the case. He powered down the Batcomputer and turned to Whisper, who was cackling and rolling around on the ground, an enlarged image of an elephant playing basketball pulled up on his glove.

Curiosity sparked, Bruce cleared his throat loudly and once Whisper had calmed himself, asked, "What kind of technology do you use to power your glove?"

The teen stared up at him from his place on the floor in shock. "You're seriously asking about the tech? Not the fact that I was looking up elephants?"

"I've learned not to ask with you."

A slight pause followed before Whisper said, "Good choice." He pushed himself into a standing position and commented, "You must be pretty whelmed."

"Whelmed?"

A dramatic sigh preceded, "We've been over this. Whelmed: the medium of overwhelmed and underwhelmed? Ring a bell?"

Bruce slightly recalled the conversation at the mall all those weeks ago. "Right... Anyways, the tech?"

"You can download the schematics if you want," Whisper said with a slight shrug.

An hour later, when Alfred came down to see what was keeping the Masters from their lunch, he found the pair talking animatedly about three dimensional imaging and pressure sensitiveness. Smiling at the almost dynamic interaction of the two, the faithful butler just left a tray of sandwiches on a spare table and headed back upstairs.

* * *

**AN: Again, sorry it took so long. I didn't add in a Wally short cause the first one originally had him in it, not Artemis, but then I realized that he would be at school. I'll probably add in a full chapter about brotherly bonding between them. And if we get to 100 reviews, I have a special treat planned!**

***SPOILER ALERT! SPOILERS ABOUT THE EPISODES 'WAR' UP AHEAD!***

**Okay, WHAT. THE. HECK. Why is Nightwing not kicking butt and taking names! All he does is talk! And why did they have to do that to Blue Beetle? But I personally love that they put Wondergirl and Arsenal together! My dad was in the TV room and when she kissed him on the cheek, I let out a fangirl scream, earning me a weird look from my dearest father. He just doesn't understand. *Shakes head sadly* Anywho, can't wait for the next episode! **

**Oh and can I just say that not having a third season is a crime! No Red Hood? That's...that's...*sob* I can't even find words to display my horror. All we've seen of him is a shimmery image that got blown up! I need some Jason Todd action! (Even though Dick is my fave Robin.)**

**-GSDLover**


	14. Whisps

**AN: OMG! I JUST GOT MY FIRST KISS THIS VALENTINE'S DAY! IT'S THE BEST DAY EVER! OH MY CHESIRE! Anywho, sorry it took so long to update. I was grounded for two days and this chapter has a lot of action. If you don't quite understand what I'm trying to say, just change Robin's outfit in 'Homefront' and switch some of the dialogue around and you're golden.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. *SOB***

* * *

Artemis hurried down the dark alley, bow in hand. She had had a stressful day at that snob magnet of a school, and right now, she didn't want to be Artemis 'the charity case', she wanted to be the Artemis 'the hero'. She paused at the abandoned telephone booth, hand reaching for the door, but stopped when she heard an all too familiar voice saying, "Artemis?"

Spinning around, she saw a small, black-clad figure and instantly recognized him. "Whisper! I- uh..."

"How random that you're in Gotham City, instead of Star City, where your uncle Green Arrow lives?," Whisper interrupted.

Artemis panicked and stuttered, "I-uhh...came to see my cou-," she stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something. "Hey, wait a minute! You know about my family! You said so when we met you!" His mischievous smirk egged her on. "And what are _you_ even doing here?"

Rolling his eyes, Whisper replied calmly, "I had to pick up some money I left behind at my old apartment."

Artemis scoffed, "Fine, let's just go to the Cave."

The younger bowed mockingly and said, "Ladies first."

"Your younger. You go."

Whisper shrugged, then walked into the booth. He disappeared with a flash of yellow light as a female voice announced, "Recognized: Whisper B-0-7." Artemis followed, totally unaware as to what awaited her on the other side.

* * *

Whisper had expected to have a nice, peaceful afternoon at the Cave. He did not, however, expect to be attacked by a ball of fire. He dodged to the side, throwing his newly dubbed 'whisps' as he went. When the Zeta Tube announced Artemis' arrival, he shouted, "Get down," and backflipped in front of her. Tossing two more whisps, he heard metallic thunks before another fireball erupted from the smoke.

The pair dodged, both pulling out their weapons and aiming at where they thought their enemy to be. After they were forced to dodge yet another fireball, two figures appeared in the smoke and he heard the archer yell, "Who are we fighting?"

Slightly out of breath, he backed up beside her, and replied urgently, "Don't know, but we're sitting ducks by these tubes. Head for the exit!" With that he dashed off, hearing her footsteps right behind him. They safely avoided two streams of fire, but both stopped in their tracks when a large wave crashed right in front of them. "...Or not."

The pair started running back the way they came, but the water crashed into their backs, pulling them under. After a few underwater somersaults, Whisper and Artemis crashed into a wall, catching their breath as the water receded. Not wasting any time, they rose to their feet and started running.

Whisper heard fireballs hitting the puddles on the ground and the sound of an arrow flying told him Artemis had found her bow. He headed down the hallway, turning into the training room with the blonde at his heels. Pressing the comm. unit that Batman had insisted he had, he said urgently, "Whisper to Team! Come in! Aqualad!" The silence from behind him told Whisper that his companion was attempting to reach M'gann.

The sound of ripping metal gave him barely any warning before he and Artemis were tossed roughly to the ground by a funnel of fire. Without hesitation, they both rose again and ran into the locker rooms. While they dodged the funnel, Whisper pressed his comm. unit once again and said, rather exasperated, "Whisper to Batcave. Override W4." Their entrance to the tiled showers didn't deter his focus, even when he began to turn each knob to the shower heads. "Cave calling Justice League. H-O-J slash Watchtower. B-0-7 Priority Red." He was greeted by static. Great. The codes Batman had nailed into his head didn't work. Just perfect.

Speaking to Artemis now, he backed to the center of the shower room and stated, "The comm. is down. Locked. At least the water's helping." Just as he finished talking, the pipes began groaning. Water busted out of each shower head, quickly filling the small room. "...Or not."

The funnel hadn't followed them in, but it waited at the doorway, blocking their only obvious exit. Taking a deep breath and submerging when the water reached the ceiling, Whisper decided it was time to make a less obvious exit. He pulled an exploding wisp from the sleek belt around his waist and swam over to the wall. Whisper stuck the disc to the wall, hurriedly backing up when it emitted a high beeping sound.

One boom later, Artemis and Whisper were on their knees, coughing out the little water they had swallowed. After a few seconds, they rose soundlessly and began to make their way down the hallway.

The words of his old mentor echoed in Whisper's head. _'When you are up against a stronger opponent, you do NOT engage. Stay hidden, find their weakness, and dictate the terms.'_ Arriving at the kitchen entrance, he told Artemis, "We need to get lost."

Whisper watched as her eyes scanned the room and couldn't help but feel impressed when she exclaimed, "The air vents!"

"Good! Go!" As the archer dashed towards the stove, Whisper turned to the computer tablet on the wall and wirelessly hooked his glove up to it. He heard the clank of metal as Artemis pulled the grate free, before she asked, "What are you-"

"Downloading Cave blueprints," he replied hurriedly and turned to look at her from the corner of his eye. "Could come in-." A metallic clanking cut him off. He turned off his holo-computer and whispered, "Go, go!" Whisper quickly followed Artemis up the shaft, pulling up his newly downloaded map when he reached level ground.

"Go left." Artemis obeyed, with the teen close behind. Right as he turned the corner, a blast of fire went down the shaft he was just in. Letting out a breath of relief, he muttered, "Too close."

Whisper turned around and told his companion, "Take the first right." He had memorized the quickest route to the boiler room, which, hopefully, wouldn't be occupied by whatever they were fighting. Pulling up the hologram, he called, "There should be a vent cover right in front of you." The archer pulled it off and disappeared down a chute.

The pair landed on the grated walkway; Artemis with a clang and Whisper with nothing but silence. He pulled up the blueprints yet again and giving Artemis a quick, "This way," dashed off down the closest stairway. Once they were on the lower walkway, an explosion caught their attention. Right where they had just been a few moments ago, was a large fire, with a crouched figure in the middle. It rose, and after looking around, put its hands up over its head, the flames spreading as the shape did so.

Artemis and Whisper took off further down the walkway and jumped the railing onto ground level. The stood with their back pressed to the closest machinery until a loud beeping caught their attention. The pair looked over to see the machine monitors next to them rising to a dangerous red.

Whisper, a little exasperatedly, said, "That's not good," and rounded the corner to get away from it, Artemis following. The ran past the equipment, luckily avoiding the scalding hot steam coming from the pipes. However, as they passed under the figure still perched on the walkway, she let out consecutive streams of fire at them.

They ducked behind a hexagon-shaped machine, barely avoiding another ball of fire, and Whisper pulled up his holo-computer. "I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere."

His attention was captured by Artemis sassily saying, "You mean _this_ one?" Whisper followed without a word, but did leave an exploding whisp as a present for their adversary.

Artemis and Whisper dropped into the tunnels once again, Whisper immediately noticing a USB opening on the side. Telling Artemis to, "Hold on," he took his knife (He always carried one, no matter what) and pried it open. The teen took one of the concealed plugs off of his glove and plugged it in. Pulling up the hologram, he got to work, typing rapidly.

"Locking out Cave's motion and heat sensors to keep the enemy from tracking us." He was secretly glad that he actually remembered to include Artemis in his virtual whereabouts.

"And I ask again, who is the enemy?"

Flashing a smirk in her direction, Whisper replied, "Let's find out. Downloading Cave security footage." Four rectangular images popped up and he said, "There," as the top right one grew to cover the entire screen.

* * *

What's Happening on the Screen

Kid Flash was working on Superboy's bike while the clone, Miss Martian, and Sphere watched. Aqualad could be seen coming into view as the makeshift-mecanic said, "Torque wrench." Upon receiving it via telekinesis, he flashed a flirty smile and said, "Thank you, Green Cheeks."

Aquald arrived at the gathering, and questioned, "I have been meaning to ask. Any problems juggling school work with your responsibilities here?"

"Nope."

"Juggling's just _one_ of my many talents. Socket wrench."

"Daily cheerleader practice has presented a challenge. Oh- But my first loyalty is _always_ to the Team. _This _team- not the Bumblebees.

Aqualad then said, "Artemis starts school today, and Whisper has gone to retrieve something from Gotham. Do you think _they_ will have trouble maintaining their loyalties?"

* * *

Artemis' eyes narrowed and Whisper tried not to feel angry. After all, he was used to being treated like he couldn't be trusted.

* * *

Screen

Wally rose to his feet and said, "Nah, they'll manage alright. I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can Artemis g-." The speedster were interrupted when an explosion knocked the group off their feet and turned the camera to fuzzy static.

* * *

"What happened," Artemis asked, all anger forgotten.

Whisper hurriedly replied, "Explosion took out the camera. I'll find another angle." He started typing once again, and the pair watched as, on screen, water attacked their teammates and took out the first two cameras, while fire took out the last.

"That's it. All four are dead."

Catching Artemis' terrified look, he quickly corrected his statement. "The cameras, I-I meant the cameras. I-I'm sure the others are okay. Just, give me a sec to find the fastest route to the hangar."

The teen heard Artemis try to reassure herself by saying, "Yeah, they're fine. They've all got superpowers They can handle anything."

Whisper didn't bother to remind her that even Superman has a weakness.

* * *

Whisper removed a piece of paneling from the top of the bookshelf in the library. The pair jumped down and started descending the staircase, Whisper telling his comrade, "There's a secret passage behind one of these bookcases."

"Seriously? Cliche much?"

Smirking as he walked past rows of books, he replied, "You should see the Batcave." It was true, last time his was at Bruce's place, he had downloaded the blueprints, with permission of course (Not).

A slight sound brought the pair into battle stances, each drawing their respective weapons. They turned and ran, ducking behind a ransom bookshelf. Whisper heard metallic clanking and robotic voice called, "Artemis. Whisper."

The teen knew something wasn't up. If Red Tornado was here, then why wasn't there any sounds of fighting before now? It didn't fit. Unfortunately, Artemis didn't have the same thoughts.

Excitedly, she exclaimed, "It's Red Tornado," and dashed out from behind the bookcase, her eyes widening when she saw the impostor.

Whisper took his opening and pulled Artemis into a roll underneath a table, saying as he did so, "Yes on the 'red'. No on the 'tornado'."

The adolescents ran, only to be cut off by yet another crimson robot, this one female. Artemis and Whisper dodged the flames sent at them and quickly climbed the bookshelf. The hopped from case to case, Artemis yelling, "Who- what are they?"

The sprinklers turned on and Whisper felt water soak his hair-again. He jumped down into a row and began looking at the books' spines. Behind him, he heard the tell-tale sign of Artemis holding off their attackers, and wooden thumps alerted Whisper to the cases toppling over. The archer landed beside him and he finally discovered the book he was looking for. Jiggling the spine, a passageway appeared, and Artemis jumped into it, narrowly avoiding the falling shelf.

* * *

The pair descended into yet another tunnel, though this one was considerably bigger, and Whisper heard Artemis question, "Did you know Tornado had...siblings?"

Whisper replied with a simple, "No." Red Tornado was the one hero that the Talons had never trained him how to beat, and that was not good for their situation. Reaching a crossroad, Whisper turned left, only to feel a strong grip on his wrist. He turned around, slightly annoyed, to look at Artemis.

"So now what? Red Tornado is one of the powerhouses of the League. How are we supposed to take down _two_ of him?"

Feeling the need to lighten mood, the youngest joked, "They do seem pretty user-unfriendly."

Apparently, the archer would have none of it. "Don't joke. They-."

She was cut off by the overhead speaker announcing in a monotone voice, "Attention Whisper. Attention Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished."

Whisper and Artemis exchanged a glance. Things just got a lot harder.

* * *

Artemis and Whisper dashed along the corridor, the latter explaining what the plan was (Why did he have to come up with the plan anyway?). "We can access the hangar from here."

The sound of rushing water caught the pair's attention and they turned around to see a torrent of water rushing towards them. "...Or not."

"Will you please stop saying that?" The pair broke into a run, which proved useless when they were smacked in the back by pressured water.

Whisper immediately retrieved his rebreather from his utility belt and started swimming towards Artemis. Grabbing her wrists to get her attention, he let her have a turn to breathe while he looked around, searching for an attacker. Whisper was alerted to danger when Artemis was jerked from his grasp and she let out a yelp. Grabbing one of her arrows, he swam forward and stuck it in the robot's eye, before turning around and launching his grappling gun (Batman had modified it so it was sticky instead of a hook now). It attached to the far wall, pulling the pair with it. A few explosions alerted Whisper to the fact that the whisps he had left behind had gone off.

Whisper and Artemis surfaced, inhaling desperately. "Look out," was yelled, causing the two to notice the fireball heading towards them. Ducking beneath the water, they swam over to where Kid Flash and Superboy were being held by melted steel.

"You guys okay," Whisper asked.

"Forget us! Help M'gann!"

They looked up to see a cage of fire encasing the Team's resident Atlantean and Martian. "Aqualad," Artemis called, "is she-."

"She is unconscious. I fear she- we- cannot survive much longer."

The sudden arrival of the fire-robot-lady prevented them from responding. Artemis and Whisper dived to avoid the stream of fire. They came up for air and began to climb the half submerged staircase. However, they were blocked at both ends by their adversaries.

Readying their weapons, Artemis turned back to Whisper. "I'm almost out of arrows."

A plan formulating in his head, Whisper said, "Distract her, now!" Turning back to the water-robot, he threw two wisps as Artemis shot an arrow. They glanced off, and Whisper inwardly smirked when one landed right by Kid Flash's ear. His victory was short lived, though, and the two non-metas jumped into the water to avoid the attacks launched at them.

Whisper headed straight for the grate that led to the vents, Artemis right behind him. They both resurfaced, gasping for breath, and silently thanked their rigorous underwater training. The pair climbed into the first horizontal vent they came to and sat, still regaining their breath.

A robotic voice announcing, "Six minutes," calmed their breathing.

"What do we do now?"

Whisper narrowed his eyes and turned to the archer. "We save them. That's how it works." That's how he wanted to work. This wasn't like the Talons, and while it was easier only watching out for himself, he didn't have anyone that cared about him their.

That didn't sit well with Artemis. "Maybe that's how it's _supposed _to work, but those robots already took out our four _super-powered_ friends!"

"You seem distraught." Why not try to lighten the mood?

"Distraught? M'gann is dying, we have no powers, and I'm down to my last arrow! OF COURSE I'M DISTRAUGHT!"

Losing her cool wasn't the answer to their problems, and without thinking, Whisper replied, "Well get _traught,_ or _get_ _dead_."

Whisper already had used whelmed and aster around the Team, so Artemis brushed it off. Instead, she questioned, "How can you be so calm?" He was two years younger than her and he refused to panic.

Whisper started to crawl away, replying over his shoulder. "Practice. I've been going through worse since I was nine."

Following, Artemis asked, "What good is that now? What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?"

Her statement unintentionally gave Whisper an epiphany. "Oh, duh!" Pausing in his crawling, he began to think aloud. "They're machines!" He turned to look at Artemis. "And one electro-magnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range." Whisper mentally applauded the fact that they actually had a plan now.

"Great," Artemis said, tone scathing. "But you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver."

"I'm fresh out. But I'm bettin' we can make one." Pressing a finger to his comm. unit, he asked, "What do you say, KF? Doable?"

He heard Kid Flash's impressed voice say, "Totally doable," into the wisp he had planted.

But the speedster was interrupted by an announcement of, "Five minutes."

"You know, if you had more time."

Whisper decided he _would_ fair well against these odds; the Team's lives were on the line.

* * *

Whisper pushed the paneling in the Med Lab onto the floor. Crawling out, he heard Kid Flash's whispered instructions.

"Med lab, X-rar machine." He and Artemis hurried over, and the former crouched down by the side of the piece of equipment. "You'll find a small vacuum tube called a vircator that converts high energy pulses." Whisper plugged his glove into the machine and pulled up his holo-computer. "Reprogram units microwave conversion from x-rays into EMPs..." Completing the speedster's instructions, he unhooked and powered down his glove before gripping the vircator. "...with the cascading energy vector directed outward." Whisper turned the cylinder ninety degrees and carefully removed it.

He suddenly realized just what the ginger was telling him to do. "A ripple effect. Like dropping a stone in a pond."

"A stone with ten-to-the-twelfth power wattage, yeah."

Whisper, having already pulled up the Cave blueprints, eyed the gridded image of the mountain's main generator. "So I'll need to hook it up to the Cave's main generator."

He powered down his glove, knowing exactly where he was going. "Which is where," Artemis questioned.

Whisper didn't answer immediately, instead just mulled over the fact that things just got a lot harder.

* * *

Whisper jumped lithely down from the vents to the hallway that led to the hangar, Artemis following. Activating his earpiece, he whispered, "Okay, make with the distraction." The teen vaguely heard Kid Flash mention tomatoes and onions, but was too occupied with the task at hand to really focus. With a simple, "Cover me," Whisper had a line attached to the Cave wall and was swinging his way towards the generator.

Placing the vircator in its desired location, he quickly hooked up his glove and said, "Rerouting power now." Whisper looked out at the robots, waiting for them to collapse, but when nothing happened, he turned back to the equipment. "It's not working." The youth soon found the issue and began murmuring into his earpiece. "Circuits incomplete. I need _something_ conductible." As he spoke, he began to search through his utility belt for something that could work. "A piece of metal or-."

He was cut short by Artemis hollering, "Whisper, look out!"

Whisper only had enough time to rise before he was swamped by water. He slammed into the generator and let out a strangled cry as the breath was expelled from his lungs. He tried to find the way up, the way out, but it seemed everything was just water. Whisper vaguely remembered what he had been trained to do in these situations, and became perfectly still. He felt a feeling of weightlessness, and he desperately hoped that the robot would get him out of the water soon. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. Water soon worked its way down his throat, and all he knew was darkness.

* * *

The first thing Whisper registered when he regained consciousness was coldness-he was freezing and wet. Opening his eyes to slits, he realized his location immediately. The robots had their backs to him, and he knew that even if he needed to cough to get the water out of his lungs, he couldn't. One of the first things he had learned from the Talons was that when captured, outmatched, and waiting for back-up, pretend you are beaten. Silently moving his hand off his chest so he could at least breathe a tiny bit easier, he let himself fall back into half-conciousness.

The teen remained half awake throughout a series of noises and bright colors. He only became completely aware of his surroundings when he felt hands lightly brush his chest and forehead. They were warm hands, not cold and metallic. Realizing that the Reds were beaten, he finally allowed himself to choke the liquid from his respiratory system.

Whisper heard Artemis, sounding extremely relieved, announce, "He's-he's breathing, too."

Taking a few deep breaths, Whisper turned to the blond archer, and giving her a small smile, said, "Wait to get traught."

Whisper couldn't help but feel warm-hearted when Artemis let out a breath of happiness. It felt good to have someone actually care about his well-being.

* * *

Whisper observed the circle of heroes as he finished explaining what happened while they were trapped. "...Figured my only chance was to 'surrender'. Pretend to drown before I actually did. Blacked out though."

The adolescent watched as Superboy and Miss Martian had a sweet romantic moment. He absentmindedly wondered whether they had kissed or not, before turning to look at the archer and speedster.

Whisper's attention was drawn away from Artemis and Wally's arguing when Red Tornado's voice came from the Cave's entrance. "All machines present at the time." Landing by the Team, the robot asked, "What has occurred?"

Whisper turned to face the villains of the afternoon. He replied, albeit, a bit unhappily, "Had a little visit from your family."

The youth silently agreed with Artemis' sassy comment of, "Your extremely _nasty _family."

"I was not aware I had relations." Wow, sarcasm was no fun with a robot around.

"Where have you been," asked Superboy.

"Monitor duty on the Watchtower. When it became clear the Cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate. But your Zeta Tubes were also non-functional." Kneeling next to his siblings, Red Tornado continued. "I transported to Providence and proceeded here."

He was interrupted by a whirring noise and Sphere, who had been trapped in the wall, finally broke free and was greeted by Superboy's, "Hey boy."

The laser in Artemis' grasp unexpectedly went off, and simultaneously, Whisper and Kid Flash turned to each other. "The pulse has warn off!"

The Team turned to the invaders, only to be greeted by Red Tornado rising and creating two tornados. Whisper stumbled a few steps, gasping as the oxygen was forcibly grabbed from the room. Black spots began to dance along his vision and he collapsed to his knees next to Aqualad. Finally, darkness overtook him, and Whisper collapsed, seriously sick of passing out by now.

* * *

The gentle shaking of his shoulder was what aroused Whisper. Blinking his eyes open, he saw Bruce's cowled face looking down at him in concern. Whisper saw the unasked question clearly, and nodding his head to let the Bat know he was alright, he rose to his feet. Batman also stood and the pair locked eyes, having a silent conversation.

A slightly furrowed eyebrow. "Are_ you sure you're alright?"_

A small smirk. _"Yep. I'm whelmed."_

The tiniest of scowls. _"Why do you insist on using those words?"_

The smirk widened. _"'Cause I'm just that asterous."_

The microscopic movement around the cowl's lenses let Whisper know Bruce was rolling his eyes. Figured.

The teen heard Superman arouse Artemis, and was expecting for her to say, "What _happened_?The Reds happened! Tornado and his- wait where are they?"

Turning around to face the distressed archer, Whisper answered, adding a sense of foreboding to the room.

"Gone. All three of them. Gone."

* * *

**AN: I used to love this episode because it had so much Robin in it, but now, I'm cursing its Robin-ness. This took forever to write. UHHHHH! Anywho, whatevs, cause I'm finally done!**

**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR 'COMPLICATIONS' EPISODE!**

**Oh yeah, Nightwing! You do that detective and flipping stuff! Snap that Birdarang in fourths even! EEEEPPPPP! *SIGH* Why can't the description for 'The Hunt' say "A single awesome acrobat is put to the test when he sends himself behind enemy lines: to rescue the team!" I mean come on! I love that they actually have Nightwing BATGLARING for heaven's sake, but still! Now we just need some but kicking action! (I seriously hope that action occurs next episode with an unnamed character *COUGH* Blue Beetle *COUGH*)**

**Anyways, happy Valentine's Day (Mine was certainly happy, 'cause, you know, first kiss and all)! Later, and I'll try to update soon.**

**-GSDLover**


	15. Accent

**AN: I just realized something. Male Robins are _really_ possessive. **

**Young Justice is _Dick's_ team. (As said in the episode 'Complications'.)**

**Starfire is _Jason's_ girl. (As said on a pic I found on Google images)**

**Superboy is _Tim's_ 'clone boy'. (As said on a pic I found on Google images)**

**And _Damian_ is all like, "I am of the right blood, the Robin mantle is rightfully mine!" So you get what I mean, right?**

**Anyway, GUESS WHAT! My german shepherd got the tip of her tail sliced off by a door so now she has to wear gauze! Fun. *SIGH***

**Look for witty comments in the AN below this chapter, there will be plenty. *GIGGLE***

**This happens after 'Homefront' but before 'Alpha Male'.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own, yatta, yatta, yatta**

* * *

After Batman and the other Leaguers had been told of the day's occurrences, they had told the Team to hit the hay. All of the teens obeyed, except for a certain acrobat and a speedster. As Whisper was heading towards his room, Wally, who was in civvies, had grabbed his arm and dragged him the opposite direction. It took all of the younger's willpower not to break the ginger's arm out of instinct. However, he was still tempted to do it when Wally dragged him into the music room and demanded to hear a song.

Whisper stared at the carrot-top in front of him and deadpanned, "What."

"Come on! Arty told me that you can sing! I wanna see!"

"No."

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaasssseee?"

"No."

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaasssseee?"

"_No._"

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaasssseee?"

"NO!"

"Why not?"

Whisper paused. "Because... I-uh-." He walked right into that one. "Because you just can't," he declared childishly, crossing his arms.

Grinning inwardly, the speedster knew he had him and put on his best puppy-dog face. "Come on, dude. Just one little song?"

"If I do, will you go away?"

Wally grinned triumphantly. "Yep!"

The acrobat heaved a dramatic sigh and headed towards the piano. After he sat down on the bench and turned to face his companion, Whisper asked, "What do you want to hear?"

Wally pursed his lips and tapped his chin. "Hmmm. Well, Artemis said that the one she heard you singing was good, so how about that one?"

Scowling, Whisper said, "Fine," and walked over to the acoustic guitar. He picked it up and began to strum. **{Insert 'Running Away' by Jesse McCartney}**

One song, three minutes, and a dropped jaw later, Whisper had finished singing. Raising a questioning eyebrow at Wally, who had yet to close his mouth, he smirked slightly and said, "Yes?"

"That-I-what-how...Why didn't you tell us you were that good!"

Whisper shrugged and leaned the guitar against the wall. "It didn't seem that important."

Rolling his eyes, the speedster replied, "Dude, please. You're _amazing_. Can you sing another?"

Whisper hesitated. His assassin side was saying to downright refuse and go to bed, but his Dick side was saying something completely different. It was telling him to open up, if only a little, and be a kid for once. Finally, the teen nodded and slowly said, "Sure, maybe a few more."

"Sweet! Thanks, dude!"

Whisper replied absentmindedly, "No problem," and picked up the guitar once again. Sitting down on the piano bench, he rested his fingers along the strings. He hadn't played this song in ages and he'd been meaning to do it alone, but now just felt..._right_.

Whisper, throwing all caution to the wind, became Dick once more and began to play. **{Insert 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift but imagine it's being sung by Jesse McCartney}**

* * *

When Wally had asked to hear another song, he hadn't been expecting _this._ The combinations of certain notes sent tremors up his spine, but in a good way. It was amazing, really. He had never heard a song this mystifying and he could tell that it had some kind of hidden meaning for Whisper.

You can't fake the pure emotion put into certain songs and Wally knew that this one was overflowing with feelings, if the slight tremor to the singer's voice wasn't enough.

The words took on a slight accent, seemingly hypnotizing the listener; this song was something special. Of that Wally was sure. After Whisper finished holding the last note, the speedster noticed how his eyes stayed glued to the guitar.

Taking a tentative step forward, Wally spoke softly, "Whisper, I-that was stunning. Really."

Whisper raised his eyes to peek through his bangs. He gave a half smile, which was as much as he was willing to give at the moment. He hadn't heard that song since that night...no. He wasn't supposed to think about it. Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, he lifted his head completely. "I'm...glad you liked it."

Wally didn't press. He knew when to leave some matters alone. Instead of asking the questions that bubbled up inside of him, he merely said, "I did." Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood, abruptly asked, "Wanna go play some video games?"

"Sure. But I'll warn you now. I've never played."

"All the better for me." Wally disappeared down the hall with a laugh, Whisper right behind him, calling for him to wait up.

Neither teen knew it at the time, but that was the start of a friendship so strong, it easily extended into brotherhood.

* * *

A lone desk stood in the center of a dark office. A man sat there, chin resting on his intertwined fingers. The silence was interrupted by the slight swish of a door being opened.

A young man stood in the doorway, straight as a board. Doing everything he can to hide his apprehension, he began to speak. "Sir, we have news about the boy."

The reply was soft, slow, and had a dangerous undertone to it. "I thought I made it clear that he was never to be mentioned unless his exact location is known."

"That's the thing, sir." The recruit barely managed to keep the excitement from his voice. "There's a picture going around the press of Bruce Wayne and a child that fits his description. Well, mostly. The eyes are a different color."

The room was silent. Then, "Have surveillance on him at any and all possible times. Report to me if you find any useful information."

Replying, "Yes sir," the man left the room as quickly as possible. The remaining person mused about his newest intelligence. The boy had never quite managed to drive away his need to attach himself to other human beings. If he managed to made friends with Bruce Wayne, or his alter ego, Batman, then it would be used against him. It seemed that emotions would be the boy's downfall. It didn't matter in the long run though.

Richard Grayson would return to the League of Talons, one way, or another.

* * *

**AN: Sorry, but it's just a filler. Anyway, here's a bunch of snarky and sarcastic comments I've been meaning to make.**

**1) I've always thought that Kadji-Da was cute with his 'destroy everything' remarks, so it makes me happy to know that the Blue Beetle on mode is neither Jamie or Kadji-Da. How do I know this, you ask? Because, when Nightwing questioned Blue Beetle on War World, this is what would've happened if various personalities were in control.**

**Jaimie: It was me! Blah blah blah! I'm so sorry! I never meant to! Blah blah blah! I beat the Team up and betrayed them! Blah blah blah! Sorry!**

**On Mode Beetle: *Exactly what happened in the episode* (Duh...)**

**Kadji-Da: Nightwing, I would try to convince you that a Boom Tube opened up and took the Team, but, alas, I cannot. You and your logic is too flawless for me to lie to. My host is unworthy to be in your presence *BOWS PROFUSELY*.**

**2) The coffee pot guy is a traitor! He's really a physically modified Tula/Aquagirl come back from the dead to watch over her former lover and to take down the Reach from the inside. It's undoubtedly the truth. *SMUG FACE***

**3) Okay, I've seen this on Tumblr, but for those of you who don't go on, it basically said:**

**Connor and L'gann didn't have to save M'gann. She teamed up with her best friends and enemies and got her pretty green butt out of there. **

**By herself. **

**Mermaid style.**

**4) Okay, since Nightwing is not mentioned to be part of the rag-tag team sent to rescue the Team, I'm seriously hoping that while the Runaways are saving the Team, we'll have an epic showdown between Blue Beetle and Nightwing. EPICNESS!**

**5) Okay, this just randomly came to me, and I'll probably write this later, but basically, it's Gangnam Style except it's 'Angry Nightwing Style'. Fun, right?**

**That is all the random comments I have for today. Oodles of ****toddles!**

**-GSDLover**


	16. Pretzels

**AN: I need to say this cause I don't say this NEARLY enough. Thank you so much to everyone reading and reviewing! You have no idea how much it means to me. I seriously squeaked when I saw I got 100 reviews. And as promised, you get something special because of those 100 review (Not just virtual cookies either). I'm gonna post a one-shot that is interconnects with this plot. Keep an eye out for it, okay? Anyway, read on!**

* * *

The majority of the Team, who were sleeping in their respective rooms, were awoken by Batman's voice over the intercom. They quickly dressed in their mission uniforms and met in the hallway connecting their bedroom doorways, walking as a group to the kitchen. However, the four members present found an unexpected surprise awaiting them in the living room.

Wally was lounging upside down in the armchair, game controller in hand and his tongue poking through his lips. Whisper was balanced on the back of the couch, occasionally making noises of protest or victory.

"Take that you brain-eating, semi-decomposed, soulless corpse!"

"Dude, use the grenade! The grenade!"

An explosion on-screen followed shortly, prompting the two gamers to shout in excitement.

Whisper turned his head slightly, before catching sight of his assembled teammates. Flashing them a quick smile, he turned back to the screen and said joyfully, "Hey guys! KF is showing me how to play video games! I-DIE ZOMBIES! DIE!"

Miss Martian gave the small teen a frightened look as he front-flipped from his perch on the couch and landed sitting on the middle cushion.

Aqualad asked somewhat reluctantly, "Have you two been up all night?"

It was Whisper who replied. "Yep! We started playing around 9, but then we started to get tired and KF gave me some drink he called a 'Monster' or something and then we started playing again and we already beat all the other levels so now we're on this level and we are so going to wi-WHAT THE ASTER?! I JUST KILLED THAT ZOMBIE!" All throughout his speedy monologue, Whisper had his eyes glued to the screen, his thumbs never stopping.

Superboy winced at the volume before heading into the kitchen, where he paused, seeing the counter littered with at least twenty crushed cans. Turning his head slightly, he called the rest of the Team in to see the mess (Except for Whisper and Wally, who were still beating zombies to virtual pulps). Miss Martian and Aqualad didn't react at first, unfamiliar with the sugar-filled drink that were Monsters, but Artemis stared in horror.

The two boys were already hyper to begin with, but if they drank all of those cans, well, nothing good could come from that. She just hoped that Wally drank most of it. After all, his metabolism _could_ handle it much better than Whisper's could.

Eventually, the teens decided to clean the kitchen before Batman saw it. After they finished with that, they went back into the living room, where the pair of trouble-makers were passed out on the couch.

Aqualad let out an annoyed sigh through his nose before shaking his teammates awake. Wally let out many noises of protest, yet finally managed to pry his eyes open. Whisper, however, didn't have as much of a nonviolent awakening. As soon as the Atlantean's hand touched Whisper's shoulder, his eyes shot open and not even Wally registered Aqualad's arm being drawn behind his back. Two seconds passed until Whisper let out a nervous chuckle and dropped his captured limb.

"Sorry about that, uhhhh instincts?"

The Team decided to drop it, they understood by now that there were many things about Whisper they would never understand. After the two gamers were informed of the intercom announcement, the teens gathered in the still darkened hangar in uniform, where they patiently awaited the mission briefing. **(AN: I couldn't resist adding some video games and Monster bonding with these two. Sorry if the results of a Monster is way off, I've never had one, so I wouldn't know.)**

* * *

Whisper had been watching Kid Flash devour a bowl of pretzels when a yell from Superboy caught his attention. When the clone loudly announced, "Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us but said _nothing_," Whisper stayed silent.

When Batman finally averted the attention of the adolescents off the topic, Whisper silently thanked him. He wasn't stupid; he knew that if Red Tornado wasn't the traitor, he would be the next top suspect. Batman would definitely back him up, but no one even knew his real name, let alone do his past. Whisper was pulled from his musings when the Dark Knight began to address the Team about certain arrangements.

"With Red Tornado...missing, the Team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."

Captain Marvel stepped forward and said peppily, "I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys." Whisper's eyed twitched; it was not natural for those words to come from an adult's mouth.

"As for your mission," Batman interrupted and waved his hand, pulling up a holographic image from thin air. Upon hearing the gasps from his teammates, Whisper smirked. "Whisper allowed me to scan the blueprints of his holographic glove," Batman quickly explained. "We designed a way to incorporate the technology into the Cave and the League used the blackout as a chance to install the equipment." Gesturing once again, a second image came up.

Once Kid Flash read the headline out loud and sarcastically, Superboy said through the mind link, "They're seriously using this to distract us?"

After it was established that Batman was_ not _joking, the teens headed towards the Bioship, where, to their surprise, Captain Marvel met up with them. Shrugging it off, the Team loaded into the Bioship. On the way to India, Whisper mused over all the ways this could go wrong; it was a fact that all far-fetched missions always became an huge, evil, and confusing plot.

He didn't know how right he was.

* * *

Giant man-eating vultures. Why not?

Whisper flipped over another fallen tree, tossing a whisp at the bird as he went. Once he and the Team had landed at their destination, Kid Flash had thrown several scathing remarks at Aqualad, then dragged Whisper off into the trees by the arm. Only ten minutes into their trekking, they had been attacked by several grotesque vultures wearing enlarged inhibitor collars. Kid Flash and Whisper had easily deduced that their proactive behavior (Not to mention appearance) was caused by Kobra Venom. Unfortunately, the pair's pursuers didn't really care about that.

Whisper grabbed onto another branch before flipping towards a vine, narrowly avoiding the vulture's beak.

Yep. Giant man-eating vultures=Not feeling the aster.

* * *

Whisper stood with the rest of the Team outside the Bioship. They had found the Brain, but, unfortunately, he and Monsieur Mallah managed to escape. Now, the last of the animals had been released and Whisper had to find the answer to a question he'd had for a while.

During the Team's initial argument about leadership, Whisper had tried to stay out of it. He was upset that such vital information was kept secret, but at the same time, he was glad it hadn't been brought up when he would've been a suspect. Still, that didn't change the fact that he was curious.

"Look, I need to know. Why did you keep the mole intel a secret?"

The Atlantean paused and faced the rest of the Team before replying. "The source of the tip was Sportsmaster."

Whisper automatically did a mental review of the villain's file. _Works for the Shadows, occasionally does jobs for the Talons, not that the Shadows know that, and let's not forget that he happens to be the father of our resident archer._

The adolescent's thoughts were echoed by Artemis' screech. "What!? You can't trust him!"

Aqualad's reply came instantly. "I do not. It seemed possible, even likely, that he was attempting to divide the Team with false information."

"And given how this mission went," Whisper continued, "He nearly succeeded. But you had to consider it might be true." Whisper was definitely starting to understand why Aqualad did what he did.

"Yes. As leader, I did, in which case I did not wish to alert the traitor."

Whisper nodded. "Hate to say it," (the teen always did despise decisions he made based on his training), "But, makes sense." Whisper sent a grin in the Atlantean's direction.

"I am still prepared to step down."

Kid Flash decided to take that moment and say, "All in favor in keeping Aqualad as leader." All of the teens raised their hands, even Whisper and Artemis, who weren't there when the original vote was held.

Aqualad took in the sight before him before turning to the youngest member. "And if the need arises, I believe you will step in?"

Shocked, Whisper turned to face the others. Despite the little information that they had on Whisper, they couldn't deny the sense that he had more experience then they did, not to mention he managed to keep a level head.

Seeing the vote of confidence, Whisper looked back at Aqualad. "If the need arises," he repeated.

* * *

**AN: Okay, so I FINALLY finished that. Just warning you now, certain episodes will be left out and there will be no Zatanna or Rocket. The plot is going to be changed around, so there will be no Light, it's just the League of Talons working anonymously through all the other villains. Kapeesh? Okay, good.**

**And I didn't include the fighting scene in this because nothing was different. Sue me.**

**-GSDLover**


	17. Clowns

**AN: Oh. My. Gosh. I am soooo sorry. There was homework and chores and Doc Manager kept deleting my work and being grounded and just...ugh. #Issues.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. Me no own.**

* * *

Whisper aimed yet another kick at Kaldur's head. The Atlantean knew that he was going easy on him, but Kaldur didn't seem to mind. As long as Whisper simplified his fighting style so it was one punch or kick at a time, then the two were evenly matched.

Whisper turned and ran at his opponent once again. His punch was blocked, but he quickly ducked into a backhand spring. They continued on, exchanging punches and blocks, before they came to a standstill. Their fight was interrupted of the arrival of Conner, M'gann, and Wolf, the two former smiling lightly.

The young teen walked over to the Atlantean and put one hand to cover the side of his mouth. "You know they're a couple, right?"

"I believe I knew before they did." The pair exchanged a small smile before turning to Wally and Artemis, who were just entering.

"Do we tell them," Whisper asked. He honestly couldn't believe they hadn't noticed it yet.

"It is not our place."

Wally stopped at the edge of the sparring circle. "So if Zatara's our babysitter of the week, why is he still here?" He motioned to Captain Marvel and continued. "And why is he eating my snacks?"

Before anyone could answer his question, the Zeta Tube announced, "Recognized: Batman 0-2."

The Dark Knight stalked in and instantly ordered, "Computer, national news."

An image of Cat Grant came up on a holographic screen. "The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was granted only a short reprieve." The image changed to a giant plant creature and various heroes. "And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."

"Should we get out there," asked Whisper, albeit, a little excitedly. He had never faced a giant plant monster and he was interested, sue him.

Batman turned around to face the Team. "No. The League will soon have the situation under control; that's not why I'm here. According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra Venom."

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army."

"And upgrade Wolf."

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at Belle Reve Penitentiary."

"Batman," Artemis interjected. "Is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom, too?"

"I had Green Lantern run a SPOT analysis." Batman swiped his hand, pulling up a holographic diagram. "The vine cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences." Whisper pulled up a keyboard as Kaldur spoke and started typing. "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."

"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of...secret society of super-villains." Whisper froze momentarily at those words. Yes, the Talons had connections _everywhere_, but they couldn't be behind it. They just couldn't. "The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

Whisper took that moment to report his findings. "Got that right." He began pulling up smaller holographic images of different cities. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei-." Whisper was cut off by the abrupt arrival of static on all screens.

"Dude."

"It's not me." Whisper began typing frantically. "Someone's cutting into the satellite signal. All satellite signals."

The static suddenly cleared, revealing a stark white face with bright red lips. The clown tapped on the camera glass a few times before leaning in closer. "Ladies and gentlemen," the Joker rasped. "I interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement..." The camera was moved, revealing six individuals. "...from the Injustice League." A strangled chuckling could be heard from the madman.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities," Count Vertigo began. "If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But, the longer your government's wait..."

The screen turned to face the Joker again. "...the more we get to have our _jollies._" He began laughing again, before switching the camera off entirely.

The Team stood in silence, watching Batman activate his comm. unit. "Roger that, Aquaman. The U.N. will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that."

Whisper took to the keyboard again, pulling up an image of the super-villains. He began calling them from memory while outlining their faces. "Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan. Seven heavy hitters. Probably connected to everything and everyone we've faced." Whisper inwardly sighed in relief that no criminals directly related to the Talons were present.

"There's your secret society," Wally stated.

"Not so 'secret' anymore."

"Perhaps after India, they knew we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer."

Wally clenched his fist excitedly. "Yeah, well that was their mistake. Right now, I say we go kick some plant creature butt."

Batman intervened quickly. "The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team."

Whisper wisely tuned out the sound of Wally's complaining and Artemis' physical abuse.

"With the plant creatures attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."

Zatara slowly walked up to the Caped Crusader. "You realize what you're really asking them to do?"

"They're ready."

* * *

Whisper sat at the front of the Bioship, silently checking his supplies. He had studied the Joker, and to be honest, he didn't like the information given. Despite being completely insane, the Joker was fast, agile, and absolutely unpredictable, making fighting him a challenge. Not to mention he gave a bad name to clowns everywhere. That was just wrong.

The teen's attention was adverted when suddenly, Miss Martian said, "Dizzy."

Doing his part to lighten the mood, Whisper asked, "Martians get airsick?"

"She does look a bit greener than usual."

"Not me," Miss Martian insisted. "Her."

"I feel fine."

"Not you. The Bioship. She's trying to shield us but-." She was cut off by the ship suddenly careening sideways and crash landing.

After recovering from the initial whiplash, the Team exited the ship, which was quickly filling with water. Whisper removed his rebreather, listening to Miss Martian explain the Bioship's condition. Suddenly, a strong since of lightheadedness hit him. The teen collapsed, gathering his strength, until he heard Aqualad tell him mentally, "Whisper, Miss Martian, disappear. Fulfill the mission objective. We will keep them busy."

Whisper immediately did so, melting into the dark forest around him.

* * *

Silently walking through the undergrowth, Whisper looked at the holographic map he had pulled up.

"I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we-."

"Sorry," Whisper interrupted. "That's not the gig. This is." He moved aside a branch to reveal a hemisphere-shaped building. "The Injustice League central control system. Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide."

The pair's viewing was cut off by vines wrapping around their torsos, turning them to face their perpetrator. "Well hello." Ultra Humanite landed beside Poison Ivy. "And goodbye."

Thinking quickly, Miss Martian used shifted the gun pointed at her head, promptly freeing herself and Whisper. The former merely disappeared while Whisper ran towards the trees, listening to Poison Ivy's voice behind him.

"Sorry _Whisper_, I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission."

_"Great,"_ thought Whisper sarcastically. "_You patrol with Batman once or twice and take on Clayface, and suddenly everyone is after you."_ Dodging the vines the villainess sent his way, he slid on a large one before launching himself to a branch. Whisper grabbed it and swung, using the momentum to rebound of trees and land safely on the ground.

Soon, Whisper felt like he was playing a game of cat and mouse. It greatly upset him that he was the one with a fetish for cheese. A rather quick moving plant caught him off guard, sending him sliding along the muddy ground. The plants poised to attack once again, but thankfully, exploded. Whisper saw a the air move in front of him and heard Miss Martian say, "Whisper, she's made contact."

"Artemis?"

Whisper could hear the scowl in Miss Martian's, "No."

Not two seconds later, the two witnessed their Team fall from the sky. It looked like one of those days.

Mentally summoning his teammate, Whisper and Miss Martian climbed to the plant. Their companions had the fight under control and they needed to take the plant out. Using telekineses and throwing, all the wisps in Whisper's belt were soon poised to explode in a matter of seconds all along the weed.

Whisper had just enough time to take in Ivy's stunned face before the whisps detonated, leaving a smoking carcass in place of her 'baby.' Narrowing her eyes at her, he said seriously, "Timber." He considered that revenge for hunting him down with vines earlier.

Apparently, Ivy didn't like that revenge because she instantly sent a cluster of plants at him and Miss Martian. Fortunately, his companion mentally halted the attack. Unfortunately, Miss Martian was suddenly shot aside by Atomic Skull.

Whisper dove aside before sprinting along the roof, heading back towards ground level. Behind him, he vaguely heard Joker exclaiming, "Inconceivable! Unacceptable! Retributionable! That last one might not be a word. So sue me." Whisper felt a twinge of annoyance. Butchering the English language was his thing!

The teen put that thought out of his head as he reached Miss Martian. Helping her to her feet, he dashed off once again, narrowly avoiding a blast from Atomic Skull. Whisper continued running through the trees, keeping an eye out for any enemies.

Suddenly, Wotan rose above the others and announced, "Enough." Whisper chucked several whisps at him, but to his chagrin, the sorcerer blocked them with a mystic shield. _"That is so cheating."_

Whisper's inner rant was cut off by Wotan pinning him to the ground, with _lightning _no less. The teen vaguely heard the shouts of his teammates around him, but all he could focus on was the pain. After what seemed like hours, but he knew it to only be a few minutes, the shocks running through his body subsided._  
_

In the distance, Whisper heard Kid Flash shout, "Aqualad, no!" A second later, Dr. Fate rose into the sky and began fighting Wotan. Whisper pushed himself to his knees and stiffened as he heard a splash. Turning his head, Whisper wasn't surprised that the Joker had chased him down personally. Didn't he feel special.

"Whispy Boy, you are mine," the Joker declared in a deep voice. The clown flicked out a switchblade before advancing on Whisper. The adolescent quickly jumped back, barely dodging the knife that was slashed at his chest. Whisper flipped over the Joker's head, regretting using all of his whisps to blow up the vine. The madmen followed closely, cutting all the way.

For the second time that night, Whisper found himself in a game of cat and mouse. Everything the Talons had told him about the Joker was absolutely true. Whisper had to push his acrobatic abilities to their limits to stay out of reach of his weapons. It soon became a pattern. Dodge. Flip. Jump. Flip. Dodge. Flip. Dodge. There were no openings to exploit, no weaknesses. Without projectiles, Whisper was stuck on rerun until he got help.

After another ten minutes of avoiding attacks, help arrived. Whisper had been backed into a grove of trees and cornered. Luckily, black batarang came out of nowhere, dislodging one knife from the Joker's hand. The clown spun around, a mischievous smile on his face. Whisper sighed silently as he saw the entire League descend from the sky.

Batman stepped forward on the muddy ground. "It's over."

* * *

The Team stood assembled in front of Batman, hands behind their backs.

"I expect written mission evaluations by tomorrow morning. Until then, good job." The Team's eyes widened at the tiny grin that appeared on the Dark Knight's face but Whisper all-out beamed. Good, Bruce was showing emotion even with the cowl on. Spending all your time pouting was not good, even if Whisper had done it for years himself.

The Team filed out one by one, except for Whisper, who stayed at Batman's request.

When Whisper tilted his head to the side, Batman replied to the teen's silent question. "Would you like to stay at my place tonight?"

"Sure," Whisper responded slowly.

Batman merely nodded and Whisper ran off to get a change of clothes. He returned a few minutes later wearing non-muddy clothes and had a bag slung over his shoulder. The two walked straight into the Zeta Tube in silence.

* * *

Whisper and Bruce sat in the dining room, enjoying a delicious, although late, dinner. Finally, Bruce finished eating and wiped his mouth with a napkin before leaning his elbows on the table.

"So what did you think of fighting the Joker?"

Whisper's fork paused halfway to his mouth. Tearing his gaze away from his mutton, he looked up at Bruce. "Excuse me?"

"The Joker? What did you think?"

The piece of mutton was slowly lowered to the plate as Whisper leaned back in his chair. "Fighting him was hard. He was unpredictable, not to mention creepy."

When Whisper caught sight of the small smile on Bruce's face, he narrowed his eyes and scowled. "What's so funny?"

Bruce shook his head slightly and said, "It's nothing. Just...'creepy' is what most normal children use to describe the Joker. You are far from normal and more experienced, yet you still refer to him that way."

Whisper shrugged. "Well he is. _Real_clowns don't go around killing people. They make you laugh and take care of you. The Joker ruined what most kids should feel when they look at a clown."

It wasn't until hours later, when Bruce was preparing to get a few hours of sleep, that he realized the significance of what Whisper had said. He spoke as if he knew about clowns personally. Bruce's mind flashed to Richard Grayson, but he immediately classified it as wishful thinking.

Richard Grayson was dead, and nothing was going to change that.

* * *

The leader of the League of Talons was a patient man. He looked on as the messenger stuttered over the news of the boy. The one that had reported the initial sighting of the boy had been..._dispatched_ after he made a typo on a bulletin. The new messenger wasn't much better though.

"Th-the plan worked, sir. He went to stop the group with the rest of th-the sidekicks, I mean partners, and C-Count Vertigo said that he f-fought well."

A nod was all the courier received. The young man rushed out of the room, thankful that it was over.

He just didn't know he would be headless by morning

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the lateness! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

**SPOILER FOR 'SUMMIT'**

**F*CK YES! THAT IS HOW NIGHTWING ROLLS! AND OH MY GOSH! THE SPITFIRE FEELS! JUST...AIIIIIIEEEEEE!**

**Again, sorry for lateness.**

**-GSDLover**


	18. AI

**AN: Sorry I'm late, I was mourning. 'Nough said.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned, I would change tons and tons and tons of stuff (Like it being cancelled and Wally dying)**

* * *

"Where are we going?" Whisper and the Team were currently in the Bioship, on the hunt for Red Tornado.

"Batman is the world's greatest detective and he searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gonna do better we need an illogical solution." The teen paused as he realized the very image for illogicalness was sitting behind him. Turning around in his chair, he faced Kid Flash. "A truly _dumb_ idea."

"As a matter of fact..."

* * *

"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break. He's giving us five minutes with you."

Whisper remained in the shadows in the back. Ivo had done several jobs for the Talons and he did _not_ need to be recognized.

"Spill Ivo! How do we find T. O. Morrow and his Reds," Superboy demanded.

"Now why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

Kid Flash stepped forward. "Because, and here's a truly dumb idea, you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?"

"Ah. I see your point. So let me rephrase. Why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?"

"He knows," Aqualad insisted. "Do what you must."

Miss Martian's eyes closed for a moment before opening once more, this time a vivid turquoise. Ivo leaned back in his seat. "Oh please. As if I've never faced a telepath before."

Whisper's inner battle finally ended at that statement. Ivo was in prison, so it wasn't likely he was going to get out any time soon, therefore making it almost impossible to contact other criminals. Stepping forward to the front of the group, Whisper leaned his hand on the table and pushed closer to the scientist. "Maybe you'll tell us because I'm here," he suggested, smirking evilly.

Ivo's face drained of all color. "You...b-but you..."

Glaring, Whisper growled out, "I'll give you three seconds. Where. Is. Morrow."

That seemed to get a reaction. "Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park, 100 meters south of Old Faithful."

Whisper inwardly sighed as he literally _felt_ the Team's stares on his back. This would take a lot of explaining.

* * *

"Lock out all external communication," Aqualad ordered. "Soon, Canary and Zatara-Batman, too I imagine-will know of our...visit to Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

Whisper waited a few seconds before sighing. "Artemis, I can feel you staring at me."

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on what happened back there. How did you do that? Do you know him or something?"

"Nope," Whisper responded truthfully. "Never met him before in my life."

Kid Flash chose that moment to intervene. "Well he certainly seemed to know you."

"Yeah, well, most villains do."

The Bioship fell into a deathly quite atmosphere. "Whisper," began Aqualad. "What do you mean by that?"

Whisper flinched slightly. He was just digging himself a bigger hole; time to start lying his tail bone off. "I ran into some...trouble a few years back with...Bane. I had already been trained and taking him down was easy enough. But villains like to gossip, and soon I was...some kind of legend in the criminal underworld." Under half of that was true, but the Team hopefully wouldn't be able to tell he was lying.

"What's our ETA to Yellowstone, I am way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor." Whisper relaxed slightly as the conversation took a turn to safer ground.

"Are you so certain he betrayed us," Aqualad questioned.

"Aren't you," demanded Superboy.

"I am not convinced. And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be." While the remark was meant for Superboy, it struck a nerve on Whisper, too.

Maybe if he told his Team about his past...no. That was too dangerous. Them getting involved would only get them hurt, and he would not allow that. Not ever.

* * *

Whisper adjusted one last wire before taking a step back. "There, that should do it."

"Yes," Red Tornado confirmed. "I can speak again."

Aqualad stepped forward. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet," he stated.

"The planet would've survived. It is humanity that was saved, though not by me. My sister and brother were the true heroes this day."

As the robot spoke, Whisper and Kid Flash walked over to the bins in the workshop and started going through them. Whisper had to admit he was impressed; Morrow definitely wasn't an idiot.

"My point is this. You were never the mole, never the traitor."

"No," Red Tornado said. "I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow."

"Cool," Kid Flash interrupted. Waving around a mechanic, red hand, he said, "Souvenir."

Whisper pulled out the bottom part of a leg and started towards the robot. "Reddy, we can rebuild you! Better than you were before!"

"I do not believe I should be repaired." Whisper furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place," Superboy questioned.

"I was the pragmatic choice. I do not require sleep, I have no secret identity, or second life to live."

Smiling, Kid Flash declared, "But you do have advanced AI programming designed to learn, adapt, evolve." As he spoke, he straightened the fingers of the robot hand one by one.

"Hello Megan," Miss Martian spoke as she slapped her forehead. "You wanted to become more human."

"An you couldn't do that with the League. Their stiffs."

Whisper grinned at that. "You're sure not gonna learn emotion from Batman. Trust me." Bruce influenced emotion, but he sure as heck didn't teach it.

"Then the Cave was not a proving ground only for us, but for you as well."

Red Tornado turned towards the Team. "I do not know if these statements are accurate, but perhaps, they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I believe I have come to...care about you all."

"See," Superboy deadpanned. "Practically a meat bag already."

"Which reminds me..."

* * *

Whisper walked onto the ramp leading into the Bioship before pausing. If Red Tornado wasn't the mole, than didn't that mean there was an open spot for an accusation? The teen sighed as he began walking once again. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

* * *

**AN: It's done yay. Next is Failsafe (And I haven't watched it since seeing the finale, so I know I'm going to break down crying when I see it). Sorry for the delay. I'll try to do better.**

**SPOILER: I miss you Wally. I want you back. You too, Young Justice. And I love you Jason Spisak. You are amazing. That is all.**

**-GSDLover**


	19. Muddy Water

**AN: Here it is. The chapter that ultimately made me cry a billion times. Thanks so much for reviews! And to those of you asking, yes, Red Arrow and Whisper have met before, albeit breifly(I'm really looking forward to going more in depth with their interaction).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own. If I did, I wouldn't have made Endgame so awful by making it so similar to Failsafe *SOB*.**

* * *

_This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. _That mantra was repeated in Whisper's head as he watched the footage from space. He had never liked death and right now, he just had to remember it wasn't really happening and he would be fine. A new screen popped up, displaying Zatara's face.

"Tornado, did you..."

"Yes, Zatara, we saw. Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative," said the magician. "See you in the field." With that, the screen shrunk before disappearing altogether.

Red Tornado turned toward the Team. "I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs; but should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

"We stand ready."

* * *

Gritting his teeth was all Whisper could do as the last of the League was killed. _This isn't real. This isn't real._ Thankfully, Aqualad soon gained his attention.

"We are Earth's heroes now."

Superboy interrupted. "So what are we waiting for? A theme song?"

"A strategy," replied Aqualad. "Earth's weapons have proven ineffective and it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed."

"Checking satellite imagery." Anything to get his mind off of the conditions of the simulation. A holographic globe appeared, displaying varying degrees of red and blue. "Here's where the aliens are now."

Superboy pointed towards the top of the sphere. "This one get lost?"

The youngest recognized it instantly from hours spent studying various maps. "That's Superman's Fortress of Solitude!"

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?"

Whisper winced inwardly. One, he probably shouldn't even know about the Fortress' existence and two, his statement might cause further father-son issues between the two supers. Pushing it to the back of his mind, Whisper stated quickly, "It's power source must have attracted the alien's attention. At least enough to send a scout ship to investigate."

Superboy took a few steps away, muttering, "Must be some fortress." Miss Martian went after him, trying to console him, but Whisper tuned them out. That was their business, not his.

"We will target this lone ship," declared Aqualad.

"Yeah," Kid Flash agreed. "We'll break it down. Build more. Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo. Ow!"

Artemis swiftly elbowed the speedster's chest before leaning in and murmuring, "Martian and Kryptonian in the house."

"Ah, not that all aliens are automatically ugly."

Whisper rolled his eyes at Kid Flash's tact. _Smooth._

* * *

Miss Martian's announcement of, "_Communications disabled_," was quickly followed by, "_Propulsion disabled._" _  
_

Several seconds later, Artemis declared, "_And ETs are sealed inside_," prompting Kid Flash to start running, Whisper clinging to his back. The youngest was wearing the same thing he wore on regular missions, except everything was white and he wore his hood up. Personally, he never liked the color too much, but the situation demanded it. Once the pair were a few yards away from the ship, Whisper flipped upwards, landing cleanly beside Aqualad and pulling up his holo-computer. _  
_

"_Identifying weapon's __structural stress points and links to the ship._" He rose and pointed in three different places. "_Here, here, and here._"

Miss Martian obediently launched psychic slices at the designated locations. Whisper continued to type away on his glove, taking a closer look at the alien's tech. However his attention was drawn by a bright flash, leading his head to straighten immediately. The teen instantly accounted for all of his teammates, noting that Superboy was a ways away in the snow, except for Wolf.

Whisper assumption was confirmed by Miss Martian's stricken declaration of, "_Wolf_."

"_There was no indication of feedback, I-I'm sorry_." Whisper absently wondered if nagging voice inside his head that made him feel responsible for every single death they encountered in the simulation would stay.

"_Can't do anything for him_ _now_." Superboy reclaimed his spot on top of the ship, taking the gun in his grasp. "_Let's go_."

One hard tug later, Superboy and Miss Martian landed on the Bioship, where the latter placed both hands on the vessel. "_Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into ship's bio-matrix_." The rest of the Team, excluding Artemis, who was still working her way over, joined the two in standing on top of the Bioship. "_I'll need to decamouflage for a few seconds_." As she spoke, the ship returned to its regular, red coloring.

"_May not have a few minutes_," Whisper warned. Two alien crafts circled around, now heading in the teens' direction.

"_Miss Martian, open fire_," ordered Aqualad.

"_Can't. Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon and that's not fully integrated yet either_."

"_Got you covered_," Artemis called. "_Get inside! I'm almost there!_" She loosed three arrows at the attackers before turning in the Team's direction. Whisper felt dread rise in his stomach as only one was destroyed. The second landed harshly, but still managed to aim its cannon at the archer.

"_Artemis, behind you_!"

Artemis turned, an arrow ready to fly, but was cut off by a brilliant flash consuming her. Whisper watched in shock as her skeleton flashed bright white, before disappearing all together.

"_ARTEMIS!_"

The seriousness of the situation hit Whisper like a tidal wave. They were gone. Artemis was gone..._Bruce _was gone. All of the League was dead, forever. _All_ of them were disintegrated, destroyed, demolished; they were never coming back.

"Artemis!"

"Get inside. All of you."

At that, Whisper shook himself free of his daze. When dealing with loss, no emotion. That was the rule that had gotten him through the past four years of his life so it had to work now, right? No emotion, no consequences; that was how it worked.

The teen instantly fell back into his old routine. Set jaw, flat eyes, clenched fists, all of it came naturally. Closing himself off was the best course of action in these situations. If he didn't, he would be punished.

"They're dead. Every single alien, if it's the last thing I do."

One part of Whisper wholeheartedly agreed, the part that still sounded like a blue-eyed, nine-year-old circus performer, but he quickly pushed it down. _No emotion. No emotion. No emotion. _That mantra was repeated in Whisper's head as he proceeded up the ramp into the Bioship.

* * *

Kid Flash's anguished cries greeted Whisper's ears, making his frown deepen. It was easier to act purely on tacts when he was surrounded by jerks, but here, with friends, it was becoming increasingly more difficult.

"There will be time to mourn later," proclaimed Aqualad. Whisper turned to face him, his hood now down to reveal his dark hair. "Now we have a job to do. Defend the Earth, and make sure Artemis' sacrifice was not in vain."

"Back to the Cave," Miss Martian questioned.

"The Hall of Justice. The human race must know that there are still heroes defending them. There is still hope."

* * *

Whisper glanced impassively over his shoulder at the soldiers behind him. He had changed back into his regular black attire (Thank goodness) and was now walking into the Hall of Justice with his Team and a few carefully selected officers.

Staring down at the stone, cowled head of Bruce Wayne, a sad, "They're really gone," slipped past his lips before he regained his composure. _No emotion. No emotion._

His inner thoughts were interrupted by Miss Martian hurriedly tossing her uncle's statue into a pillar and shouting, "Uncle J'ohnn!"

Her flight in the hero's direction was stopped by Aqualad's outstretched arm. "_M'gann, check his mind. Make sure he is who he appears to be_."

A second passed before she exclaimed mentally, "_It's him! He's real! And he's alive_!"

Whisper's eyes narrowed. A supposedly dead Justice Leaguer shows up out of nowhere? Good things didn't just come out of the blue like that.

The teen's thoughts were narrowed by Superboy. "But we saw you get disintegrated! You and Superman! And everyone!"

"Yes," Martian Manhunter said as Miss Martian helped him to his feet. "I remember. But I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here."

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you," Miss Martian suggested.

"Scrambling your brains along the way," interjected Kid Flash.

"My mind _is _clouded, but I feel certain I had something important to tell you..."

"_Hello Wally_!" The Team turned to face Kid Flash at his sudden outburst. "_Come on_!"

* * *

Once Kid Flash finished his Zeta Beam theory pow-wow, Whisper felt a small amount of hope rise up in him...only to be pushed to the side by the arrival of over a dozen alien ships.

"_We're on our way_," proclaimed Aqualad.

"_Negative; we can't win this. Miss Martian, camo the Bioship_." Whisper's command was cut of by the sudden destruction of said craft, causing the familiar presence of the mind link to suddenly waver. Seconds later, the connection strengthened, allowing Kid Flash and Whisper to contact the Team. "_We're falling back_," he notified as several soldiers and the two heroes proceeded indoors.

Running into the League's library, Whisper listened attentively to Aqualad's idea. "We can all Zeta to the Cave." Turning his head to Martian Manhunter, he continued, "If you can grant us computer clearance to access the tubes."

"I can only authorize one at a time."

"Send the soldiers first."

"Delay that!" The vigilantes turned to face General Eiling. "You six are assets we can not afford to use."

Aqualad nodded, signaling Martian Manhunter to step forward. In his usual, calming voice, he said, "Override. Martian Manhunter 0-7."

"Recognized. Access granted."

At the computer's statement, Miss Martian stepped up, only to disappear with the sound, "Miss Martion. B-0-4"

Whisper quickly followed, soon consumed with light and with, "Whisper B-0-7," echoing in his ears.

* * *

"Our next mission is clear. If we believe the aliens have been teleporting their victims-."

"We do." Did it not matter that Whisper doubted the League was still alive?

"-Then the only reasonable detention facility is here." A holographic image of a pointy, black figure with red patches appeared. "Their mothership, atop what used to be Smallville." Turning hopefully back to Martian Manhunter (Whisper still didn't quite understand _why_ he was still being hopeful when he needed to focus purely on getting his job done), he asked, "Ring any bells?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Expecting this, Whisper immediately turned to the resident Kryptonian. "Superboy, you'll create a distraction."

"No! He's offering you as a sacrifice! Aqualad would never do that!"

"You're right, Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader. And in case you don't remember, we agreed that in the case of his...absence, I would take command." Reminding himself to stay on track, Whisper continued. "Superboy is the most likely to be perceived as a threat, motivating the aliens to deploy."

"Worst case," said Kid Flash, "He's teleported inside and we set him free along with Artemis...and uh, Aqualad and everyone."

Whisper took a deep breath as Superboy and Miss Martian clearly shared a mental, romantic moment. He knew he was saving the world, so why was it that, deep down, he felt like he was back with the Talons, aiming a gun at an innocent man's face?

* * *

It took some convincing, several puppy dog faces, and half a dozen threats, but eventually, Whisper agreed to join in on the video the Team was going to broadcast around the world.

Once his little speech was over (He convinced himself the Talons wouldn't come after him if the world was ending), Whisper and the Team set out for Smallville. Whisper stood on the stump to a huge tree, scouting the mothership with binoculars. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Miss Martian come up to him. Lowering his hands, he turned to face her.

"Stay close to J'ohnn. He's still..." Whisper trailed off, moving his hand from side to side. The Martian nodded solemnly.

Turning back to his remaining teammates, Whisper ordered, "First team, deploy." The teen watched as Martian Manhunter and his niece flew into the night sky, soon becoming invisible.

Several seconds later, Miss Martian reported, "_Ready. In position_."

Whisper turned to face the Kryptonian. At his nod, Superboy launched into the hair, blowing the younger's hair away from his eyes. Once Superboy was out of sight, a few thunks and yells followed. "_Careful_," Whisper warned. "_Don't disconnect the power source_."

Once a few stray beams flew into sight, Whisper climbed onto Kid Flash's back. Moments later, Superboy reached Whisper's head. "_Now or never_."

Kid Flash immediately started running and Whisper held on tighter. Out of all his training, going for a piggy-back ride on a speedster was never included. _Focus,_ Whisper chided himself. _There's no time to be joking around. Just push those thoughts out. No emotion. _

The two landed into a neat roll before running into the ship and into a niche. Waiting until a ship passed, Whisper dashed out, calling, "_Way is clear. Go!_" Whisper and Kid Flash ran past several (thankfully) de-powered ships before stopping at a pillar seemingly made of wires. The teens peered to their left, watching a machine float past them. However, their attention was drawn by a loud clunk from the opposite direction.

Whisper turned and, easily spotting the blemishes in the air, nodded, leading Kid Flash and the two Martians onward.

A few more turns were made before Whisper glanced back and noticed Miss Martian had stopped. Turning, he began to make his way back to her and her uncle.

"_No_," Miss Martian began. "_He's_ _gone_!"

She collapsed, only to be grasped by Kid Flash. Whisper slowly made he way over to the group. He knew what was coming; he had known the moment he launched the first scan.

"_It's alright_," Kid Flash insisted. "_We'll find him with Artemis. I know it._"

"_No_." The teens turned to face Martian Manhunter. "_My mind is clearer now. The disintegration beam is exactly that. There is no detention facility; no prisoners to rescue. Our mission knows no purpose_."

Standing, Kid Flash grasped the front of the elder's cape. "No, you're wrong! The Zeta radiation proves she's alive! She's-."

Whisper stepped forward and grabbed the speedster by the collar. "_Stop it, KF! I've been scanning for League and Team signals since we got inside. They're not here. Artemis is gone_." Even though Whisper had known that they were gone, he still felt a slight burning in his throat. _No emotion. No emotion._ "_But,_" he continued, "_Our mission still holds purpose. To destroy this mothership_." With that, Whisper turned on his heel and headed towards their destination.

Had he been completely honest with himself, he would've known that he left so abruptly to spare himself the heartbroken looks his teammates were displaying.

* * *

Kid Flash was a science prodigy, prompting him to be considered very bright for a boy his age. However, staring at the teen he had come to see as a good friend, maybe even his _best_ friend, he was confused.

"_You knew. You knew from the beginning why we were really here._"

The speedster was _almost_ surprised to see Whisper's expression when he turned away from his glove, key word: almost. It was obvious that Whisper had been through a lot and in the last day, the teen had retreated into himself. Kid Flash figured it was kind of like a defense mechanism, something Whisper had set up around himself without even realizing it. But that didn't fully prepare the red-head for the flat look in Whisper's eyes.

Usually, they would have at least have a spark of mischief in them, or maybe a hint of sadness; Kid Flash, being the food-obsessed speedster he was, had compared Whisper's eyes to chocolate before. Now, the only thing relevant would be muddy water: flat, emotionless, and all one color. No insight as to what his companion was thinking was given to Kid Flash, and somehow, that scared him almost as much as the alien invasion did.

Kid Flash's worries only deepened as Whisper declared, totally devoid of any feeling, "_Four minutes. Let's go_."

He didn't know why Whisper was acting like this, but all he knew was that he wanted his best friend back.

* * *

Death, Dick had decided, was a funny thing. It always took, leaving nothing in its wake and tore apart the happiest of families. Whether the cause be sabotaged ropes or fiery explosions, at the end of the day, death was still death.

It still changed lives and ripped loved ones from one another, not caring who it left behind. In a way, death reminded Dick of the Talons, maybe even himself in some ways. At a time, before he had been instructed to kill an innocent person each day, for thirty days straight, Dick himself had been considered ruthless. The Talons had embedded that in him, but death had caused it.

Death had taken away his family, all five members of it, and dumped him in an isolated base in the middle of Europe. Death had taken hold of thirty, blameless civilians under an hour after Dick had been forced to look them in the eyes and shoot them. Death had been the cause of every big change in Dick's life.

Death, Dick mused, was a funny thing. It could take away everything, leaving you stripped to the bone. But, at the same time, it could also give you the one thing you wanted more than anything.

When Dick-not Whisper, he refused to die as Whisper-felt the pain of the flames licking at his skin, he absentmindedly wondered if it was normal to be utterly happy...

When you were dying?

* * *

When Whisper opened his eyes, he was confused. Completely, totally, entirely confused. We was hot, sweating, alive, and...crying? Swiftly swiping a hand along one cheek, the teen prayed no one noticed. Raising himself into a sitting position, Whisper looked around. Either the afterlife was a lot like real life or he wasn't dead.

Hearing M'gann exclaim, "You're all alive," he decided on the latter. Was it bad he was slightly disappointed that he was still alive?

Whisper turned to face Batman as he helped Martian Manhunter to his feet. "What happened in there?"

"The exercise...it all went wrong," stated the Martian, a hand to his forehead.

"Exercise?" As in mental, not real exercise? As in faked deaths and staged occurrences exercise? Whisper's breathing sped up slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice.

"Try to remember. What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the six of you within and artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train-for-failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware _nothing_ was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

Whisper winced unnoticeably at Batman's urgent tone. It was way too similar to the calm-hiding-a-storm voice his old mentor had-_no. No thinking about that. Just block it out. No emotion. Come on Grayson, no emotion already!_

The teen tuned back into the explanation in time to hear Manhunter explain just _how_ the exercise had ended up so awful. "...Changed when Artemis died. Though consciously, Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make the distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise. And her subconscious took control, making all of you forget, too."

Whisper listened half-heartedly to the rest of the clarification. He had already gotten the gist of what had happened, but real or not, it had still happened.

* * *

**AN: In case any of you are wondering, in YJ, Dick becomes Bruce as a backup in 'Failsafe.' In this, he becomes what always got him through the times with the Talons: emotionless. He's supposed to be a little emotionally unhinged because he never had anyone to help him get through his parents death; he's still hurting, even though he hides it.**

**Next chapter will have a boatload of angst, so bring your raincoats!**

**-GSDLover**


	20. Letter

**AN: Can I just say that you guys are the _best_? I've even got people from Bangladesh reading my ****fic! You're reviews are so sweet, I think I'm gonna DIE! Thank you soooo much!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. **

* * *

It had been exactly one hundred seventy-nine hours since Whisper had awoken from the training exercise, and only three of those hours had been spent on sleep. Thirty minutes after the entire Team had been sent home to get some rest, Whisper managed to fall asleep, only to awaken an hour later after experiencing a particularly horrible nightmare. The only time the teen had slept since then were those few moments when his fatigue would get the best of him and he would rest for a moment, only for his eyes to fall shut without his consent.

Other than that, Whisper had fallen back into what always made him forget about the pain of losing loved ones: training. A kick, a punch, then another kick and the combat dummies lay scattered along the floor. But still, Whisper refused to stop.

He hadn't been to the music room since the 'Incident' and why should he? He used singing to let out his feeling and why would he need to do that if he wasn't affected by the stimulation? He was used to sadness and overcoming it wasn't hard. Sadness was a frame of the mind, so if he pushed away that unneeded frame of the mind, and everything would be fine. _He_ would be fine because he wasn't giving them any reason to punish him.

Saving the world required training, but not crying. That was simple enough; mourning was unacceptable and training was needed. That was the only way he would be okay, the only way he would be fine.

_I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine._

* * *

When Dinah accepted the job of helping the Team through their...tough situation, she didn't think it would be this difficult. She had already spoken with a defensive Kryptonian, a 'tough' archer, a burdened Atlantean, a peachy speedster, and now, she was staring at the only member of the Team able to beat her in combat. She was slightly dreading what Whisper had to say.

"Look, Whisper, I know you must be hurting..." Dinah's speech dwindled off, leaving a chance for the teen to finish the sentence.

Whisper's position didn't change; it remained in the flat, cool expression his face had seemed to be stuck in over the last week. "I'm fine."

He spoke with such utter confidence, leaving no room to be second guessed, Dinah was tempted to believe him, if not for the fact that he had just witnessed his teammates' death as well as his own. Sliding forward to position her elbows on her knees, Dinah tilted her head slightly. Whisper wasn't like the rest of the Team, that was for sure. If she was going to get through to him, she needed to try a different tactic.

"Why is it that you seem to feel a certain _need_ to be fine?"

There was absolutely no reaction to the statement. Slowly, he answered, precisely and clearly. "It's not a need, it's a fact. I'm fine."

Dinah exhaled. Whisper clearly wasn't going to open up to her any time soon, if ever. Maybe Bruce could get through to him; he knew the teen better than she did.

* * *

Ferocity. That was the word that came to mind as Batman watched Whisper attack a defenseless punching bag. There had been no question about whether or not the boy had skill, but this was something different entirely; the speed and power behind each punch was surprising, if not slightly worrying. Batman didn't know where Whisper had learned to fight like that, but he wondered why he had never shown this much potential before.

That is, until the Dark Knight noticed just where the punches were landing. About a foot below the top of the punching bag: where the neck would be, easily snapped. Both sides of the middle area: a swift kick could collapse a person's rib cage. The base of the cylinder that was closest to the ceiling: get enough momentum and the skull would be bashed in. Whether consciously doing it or not, Whisper was aiming to kill.

Batman hurriedly cleared his throat; Canary had been right, Whisper did need help. The teen froze in his position before spinning around and standing straight as a board, watching Batman as he made his way over. The two stood for a moment, observing the other, before Batman broke the silence.

"I see you've been training."

A part of Whisper was tempted to say a sarcastic remark about being 'Captain Obvious', but he just settled for a curt nod.

Batman had never been good at being delicate when it came to emotions, so he just settled for a blunt approach. "You're coming to the Manor with me."

"Yes sir."

The lack of snarky comebacks and whining complaints only increased the worry that Batman felt at that moment. Bobbing his head once, the man turned and strode towards the Zeta Tubes, somehow knowing that Whisper would be right behind him.

* * *

It had been a long time since Alfred had seen a young teenager in distress, but that didn't mean he wasn't able to recognize the signs. The feat was made easier by dealing with someone who had a habit of hiding his injuries after patrol; one had to focus on the details to catch such things.

However, Alfred also recognized that the young master was going to have to find comfort from Master Bruce. That was why, after serving a lavished dinner that Whisper hardly touched, he left the two males to their business, or in other words, watching an action movie in the entertainment room.

After a particularly large explosion (Was it bad that it reminded Bruce of the majority of the Team's missions?), the billionaire grabbed the remote, muted the movie, and started talking before he lost his nerve. Bruce was never good with emotions and offering sympathy was never an easy task, especially when dealing with a teenager.

"Black Canary said you were having trouble dealing with the exercise." Bruce internally winced. _Smooth Wayne, real smooth._

Whisper didn't move, just remained sitting with his arms crossed. "I'm fine."

Bruce sighed and leaned forward in his chair, pressing his hands together. "Whisper," he deadpanned, "You've hardly slept in a week, you've been training nonstop, and you haven't _once_ gone into the music room. You're clearly _not_ fine." _Aargh, why did I agree to this? Dinah much more of a therapist than I am!_

The teen clenched his hands tighter. Why was it that he could stare down a master assassin that was talking down to him, but a single sympathizing sentence from Bruce Wayne set him on edge? "Yes, I _am._"

_He emphasized a word; is that good? _"Then you won't mind playing me a song or two?"

Whisper turned to face Bruce, now slightly curious. Did he just... "What?"

_Yes! He showed emotion!_ The billionaire quickly calmed his inner thoughts; he was not a preteen schoolgirl. "Then you wouldn't mind playing me a song?"

Whisper looked at his feet. _When I was with the Talons, I had to obey their requests but I wasn't allowed to show emotion. Singing is showing emotion so what do I do? Aargh, Bruce! Why do you insist on confusing me?_ Slowly, he muttered, "I'll...I'll think about it."

Bruce briefly placed his hand on Whisper's knee before relaxing back into his chair. The amount of compassion he had just shown had exhausted him; was it always this hard dealing with teenagers?

* * *

The Batcave was designed to be dark and sinister, but honestly, Whisper saw it as anything but. Walking along towards Bruce, who had just returned from patrol and was updating the security system, the teen was once again reminded of this. Though, the thought did nothing to shift his neutral expression.

Upon arriving at Bruce position in the 'Bat-throne' as Whisper had formerly dubbed it, he took a long look at the codes scrolling along the screen. Unbidden by his head, his mouth said, "You left a backdoor open. You need a few more codes-." Suddenly, Whisper cut himself off, before looking down at his feet and mumbling a quick, "Sorry," hands clenched at his sides.

Bruce frowned and turned to face the boy. Seeing the stiff, almost frightened position of Whisper, his eyebrows furrowed further. The billionaire slowly stood, walked over to the teen, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Bruce tried to ignore the slight tensing of Whisper's muscles as he said, "Whisper, it's all right to speak your mind. I'm not going to hurt you."

Dull brown eyes looked through a curtain of bangs; was it just Bruce or were Whisper's eyes slowly changing color over time?

Sighing heavily, Bruce insisted, "Showing emotion isn't a weakness. Sometimes, you _need_ to let those feelings out. Understood?"

Whisper bit his lip. The Talons had insisted showing your feelings was a bad thing, but here was Bruce, outright contradicting that statement; it really ended up as being who's advice Whisper trusted most.

Whisper felt like slapping his forehead at that epiphany; it honestly was a matter of who he trusted most, and in any case, Bruce won.

Giving a soft, "Yeah," Whisper nodded before heading up into the manner, Bruce watching him ascend the stone staircase. A tune was playing in Whisper's head and he already had a letter forming there, too. The teen stopped a few feet away from the clock as a large yawn overtook him.

Maybe he would get some sleep first...

* * *

Dinah usually had a set routine in which her morning proceeded; wake up, get the mail, eat breakfast, and proceed to the Cave or Watchtower, whichever was deemed necessary at the time.

However, when she opened her door and picked up the mail, she didn't expect a small envelope with no return address to fall from the stack. Retrieving it curiously, the heroine walked back into the kitchen, opening it as she went.

One could say she was surprised to find a handwritten letter that filled the front of a looseleaf piece of paper. Sipping her coffee, she sat at her worn table and began to read, only pausing slightly when she saw just _who _it was written to.

_Dear Canary,_

_A lot of people don't realize that all the good things in life can be taken away in the blink of an eye. For those who know what it's like...well, one can never get over that. Going from being in the best situation possible to the worst situation possible is a harsh eyeopener and when it happens, you can only hope you get out of it only changed slightly._

_But the thing is...I was changed a whole lot more than slightly. I can't give you details and I would appreciate it if you didn't bring it up at the Cave, but I'm willing to try to communicate. If you're willing to listen, just keep reading; I'll know if you do. _

_I grew up with the best family anyone could ask for. I was loved so much by each and every one of them. I think that's what made it worse when they were taken away from me. I was...taken under another's 'wing', so to speak, but I wasn't exactly treated the same. All I got was harsh words, training, and punishments, and through it all, I guess they managed to change me from the stereotypical mama's boy to what I am today (Only worse. I've mellowed out a lot in the past few months). I still remember what happened the first time I cried in front of my new 'guardians', but sometimes, I really wish I didn't..._

Reading the vague, yet _so_ descriptive letter in her hands, Dinah felt a few tears come to her eyes. Out of all of the Team members, Whisper had been the least willing to talk, but here he was, sharing what, in a way, could be considered his life story.

She really needed to ask Bruce what he said to the kid.

* * *

**AN: Eh, I like the ending but a lot of the Bruce/Whisper interaction doesn't satisfy. Oh well, I hope you guys like it.**

**And in my attempt to explain Whisper's inner workings, I give you 'GSDLover's Guide to Understanding a Former Assassin!'**

**When Dick first dealt with tragedy, which is to say, watching his family die, he was punished if he showed emotion and trained the majority of the time. Because the Talons forced him to skirt around the problem, he just shoved it to the back of his mind and let his instincts and determination guide him.**

**When Dick saw his second 'family' die, it struck him so deeply his ****subconscious pulled a 'M'gann' and didn't distinguish the difference between experiencing tragedy and being with douch-bag assassins and experiencing tragedy and being with caring adults named after animals of flight (Batman and Canary), so he fell back onto his instincts. Those very instincts caused him to skirt around the problem and just ignore that he was with friends, making him revert back to 'assassin-mode.' **

**But, Bruce got all sweet and save the day! And yes, Whisper did write a new song but you won't hear it till the last five chapters or so. MWAHAHAHA!**

**READ THIS: I need help! Give me your opinion or recommendations on these two matters. They WILL matter in the long run!**

**1) I need an evil-sounding Spanish (Like from the country Spain) name! Any ideas?**

**2) Would y'all rather see Dickie-bird injured and unconscious and stuff or would you rather see him worse for wear but still bantering with Bruce? **

**I NEED answers for these two questions! Review and answer, please!**

**-GSDLover**


	21. Vent, Grin, and Bird-boy

**AN: Gosh, I love Spring Break! This would've taken me so much longer to write if I had school this week. Enjoy!**

**Feliciano Dimuerte! Does that sound evil? Dimuerte means the dead and Feliciano enables Whisper to call him Felix and tease him...so, yeah. Eh, review and tell me if it does sound evil, please.**

**And 23 reviews? You guys are making me cry from happiness! I put some humor in here to balance out the emotions from last chapter (But wait until the end of this one...).**

**Now, because there is no Zatanna-joining-the-Team and no Light, the plot is going to be pretty different. The reasoning for different evil acts will be revealed eventually, I promise! This is the chapter where the differing plot really starts to become evident, so bear with me! This will include the Whisper-verse version of what happened in 'Secrets', 'Coldhearted', and 'Misplaced', so, yeah. Enjoy! (Did I already say that?)**

* * *

Grinning up in what he hoped was an innocent manner at a group made up of angry Leaguers, a stoic teammate, and a anhgsty red-headed archer really encouraged Whisper to marvel at how he had gotten into such a situation.

Sure, _maybe_ it had something to do with him declining to join M'gann, Conner, Wally, and Artemis at the Happy Harbor High School Halloween dance. It wasn't his fault he was positive he was going to instinctively attack any student dressed as a villain present. Although, his desicion to stay at the Cave may have had _something_ to do with Artemis' realization that M'gann and Conner were going out; it also wasn't his fault he wasn't good at consolation.

And it _might_ have had something to do with the face that Whisper had...'overheard' that a _secret_ _meeting_ was going to take place in the Cave that evening. And honestly, what teenager can resist the temptation to spy on said meeting?

Okay, and _possibly_ that that led to Whisper crawling along in the vents until, lo and behold, he found the room he had been searching for.

But, it _definitely_ wasn't his fault when he fell through the vent covering after losing his balance; if Harper hadn't mentioned Artemis and Whisper being the most likely suspects for moles, then the teen wouldn't have stiffened and the vent wouldn't have broken. Therefore, all the blame for _that_ was to be placed on Spee-_Red Arrow_.

Those events combined seemed to have gotten Whisper where he was at the moment. He was _so_ not feeling the aster.

"I thought the room was secure," Red Arrow demanded angrily.

Whisper winced slightly from his place on the floor. "I may have kinda hacked the computer?" An adorable smile finished his sentence, hoping to ease the scoldings he knew he would receive.

Grabbing Whisper's upper arm, Batman gently hauled the teen to his feet. "As long as you're here, feel free to add your input."

Six eyes trained onto Batman in surprise while a sassy archer loudly protested.

"Enough."

Red Arrow's rants were cut short and Whisper shrugged before plopping down in a chair. "Sure thing, Bats. Where were we?" Spee-_Red Arrow_ didn't miss the devilish smirk sent his way by the newly arrived hacker.

"We were discussing the possibility of you or Artemis being the mole," Aqualad provided.

"Since we know_ nothing_ about you and Artemis' _not_ Green Arrow's niece," intervened Red Arrow.

Whisper's eyes narrowed as Aqualad made a noise of surprise. "Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't mean either one of us would betray the Team. Even if Artemis is related to...never mind."_  
_

"Remind me again how it is that you know almost everything about the Leaguers and the Team but we know nothing of your backstory?"

"Honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure out _your_ 'secret' identity," Whisper snarked. "Not when you emit _boatloads_ of angst both as Roy Harper and Red Arrow."

"Says the kid who turned into a robot after going through a failed stimulation."

Whisper stiffened. That punk of an archer did _so_ not just go there. Fortunately for Red Arrow's nose, Batman wisely decided to intervene.

"Everyone has a right to a secret identity." The youngest in the room relaxed back into his chair. "I'm more concerned about Superboy. We still know very little about what Cadmus programmed into their weapon. Conner could be the mole and not know it."

A certain sideki-_solo hero_ took that moment to spread dissent elsewhere; Whisper's eye twitched. "And what about Miss Martian? She _is_ Manhunter's niece, but he told Black Canary he has a few hundred nieces and nephews. And the first time he met M'gann was five months ago, when she stowed away on his last trip from Mars to Earth."

"This changes nothing. I have fought side-by-side with these people. None are traitors."

Whisper slumped down into his chair. He hoped Aqualad was right.

* * *

Only an hour after Zatara put on the Helmet of Fate to stop Klarion from using the Ambre Jeune Perdu, the Team heard about it.

Batman came to tell them personally, along with the fact that his daughter, Zatanna, would be staying with relatives, but she might eventually join the Team. While the majority of the Team just felt _bad_ for Zatanna, Whisper wished he could meet her. He could definitely relate to how she was feeling. He just hoped she didn't get kidnapped by assassins like he was.

A brief, wry grin appeared on Whisper's face, but it went away quickly; Batman still noticed.

Whisper was healing, smiling and laughing more, and that was all Bruce could ask for.

* * *

"Surprise!"

Whisper laughed quietly as Wally gave an overdramatic, "Whaaat? Aw, you guys, you shouldn't have."

"Right, not like you've been hinting for _days_ or anything."

The group moved to gather around the coffee table, where a pile of food and presents awaited. Whisper grabbed a party hat and plopped it onto Wally's head, laughing at the speedster's surprised expression.

Wally sat down on the floor in front of his plate as M'gann explained, "We made two cakes!"

"Awesome! What'll you guys eat?"

"We'll split the cupcake. Make a wish!"

Whisper clapped happily as the redhead did just that, before rolling his eyes at Wally's 'subtle' flirting. He still couldn't believe the speedster hadn't noticed M'gann was with Conner yet.

As Wally began devouring his birthday cake, Whisper mumbled to himself, "Someday, I hope I'll get used to watching Wally eat."

The clicking of heels sounded behind Whisper and he turned around, only to come face-to-face with Artemis. "Think we should tell him?" Was there a reason she sounded so..._devious_?

Whisper smirked. "He is the only one who doesn't know."

"Then, please, allow me." As Whisper observed Wally's crestfallen face and Artemis' evil smile, he decided he found the reason for her devious tone.

Whisper's thoughts were interrupted by Batman's stoic voice over the intercom. "Attention Team. Suit up: Polar Stealth. Mission briefing in five."

Cake and a mission? Whisper wished he had Wally's luck when it came around to _his_ birthday.

* * *

Whisper completed another flip, leaving a decently sized explosion in his wake. Okay, maybe all the flipping wasn't necessary, but who could blame him for being excited?

(And maybe he was just showing off a _little_ bit for Batman.)

* * *

"...So then, I see this assassin-looking dude holding up a trooper by the throat. I set him free and bird-boy and I start fighting. We-."

"Wait a second," Whisper interrupted. "Bird-boy?" The teen internally worried over the fact that 'assassin' and 'bird-boy' were used to describe the same person.

"Yeah," responded Wally. "He was wearing mostly black with some other colors mixed in to look like feathers. And he was wearing this weird mask that looked like it had a beak on it. Really- dude, you okay?" The speedster took notice of the slight paling of his friend, along with the troubled expression.

"Y-yeah, I'm...I'm fine. Let me just go check something."

Wally watched with narrowed eyes as Whisper left in the direction of the bedrooms, only to shake his head and dismiss it as nothing.

* * *

Whisper hurriedly pulled up his holo-computer once he closed his door and disabled all hidden cameras (_Nice try, Bats._) If the Talons were involved in this, then that might mean that they were actually _paying attention_ to the younger partners of the League. If they were, that spelled disaster for Whisper.

Accessing his password-protected files, the teen sat on his bed. He had something he needed to do...

* * *

**AN: Due to Robin's short appearances in these episodes and other episodes being switched around because of no Zatanna, I just put all three episodes together. And in case you're wondering, in case of Vandal Savage attacking Wally, it was a Talon. And Klarion was messing around with the gem from 'Displaced' but Zatara stopped him by putting on the Helmet.**

**And as for the second question I asked you last chapter, it seems you guys want to see a lot of banter and fluff, but you want Whisper to suffer (Can anyone say evil? ;D) Right now, I'm going toward Whisper being in really bad shape and unconscious, but when he wakes up, tons of Bruce and Dick fluff and bantering and the whole nine yards. Hope that will satisfy.  
**

**-GSDLover**


	22. Big Blue Eyes

**AN: Wow, I feel so loved! Alright, here's 'Image'! We get to see what Dickie thinks of Gar!**

* * *

What.

The.

Cheddar.

Cheese.

Sure, a little over a month after Whisper's disastrous temporary term as leader (Even though it wasn't real.), let's give the youngest leadership just because Aqualad is with Aquaman in the deep blue sea. That a great idea!

Thanks _so_ much, Bats.

Oh, oh, and then there's the fact that there was a stampede threatening two civilians and if the Team engages, it could cause the entire the entire strength of Bialya to come down onto the League's and the U.S.'s heads! The situation just got better and better!

Taking a deep breath, Whisper turned back to the (_his _at the moment) Team. "Deploy, but stealth mode. If the Bialyans know we hit them, this becomes and\ international incident."

A few minutes later, the soldiers were running for the hills. Ah, the power of lasers and exploding whisps.

Landing in a crouch behind who he assumed to be the Logans, Whisper asked, "Are you both alright?" He waited until Kid Flash had thrown the guns over his head before rising; he wasn't exactly fond of getting a concussion via thrown guns. The teen studied Ms. Logan. She didn't look too happy, kind of like how M'gann looked when Wally ate all the cookies last week…

Whisper was jerked out of his thoughts by the little kid freaking out. "Mom, mom, mom! We were just saved by _Kid Flash_! And the teen who's been helping Batman!"

Great, even a kid living on an animal sanctuary in Quarac knew who he was. 'Operation: Avoid Getting Found by the League of Talons' wasn't going too good. Well, it looked like he came up with his plan just in time.

"Well, Superboy and Miss Martian helped, too," informed Kid Flash. "And Batman's little buddy is Whisper."

Right on cue, an oryx floated down onto the grass, only to be hugged by the boy. "Oryx!"

Whisper's eyes softened as he remembered himself doing the exact same thing to Zitka at the circus. Mentally shaking himself out of his thoughts, the teen immediately got down to business. Those days were over.

* * *

Okay, Whisper had to admit, despite being completely off mission, he kind of liked the Logan Animal Sanctuary. And it didn't hurt that Monkey seemed to have a personal vendetta against Superboy and vice versa.

Settling into an armchair, Whisper listened with rapt attention to Garfield. "So pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she looks exactly like Marie!" So the kid had noticed it too. He was observant, that was for sure. "You know, except greener."

"She does," questioned Kid Flash.

Garfield seemed not to care that Monkey was currently trying to bite a hole in his shirt. "Well, duh! Especially back when mom was a TV star on 'Hello Megan.'" Okay, looks Whisper noticed, but catchphrase? Not so much.

"Wait, 'Hello Megan' is a TV show?"

Whisper turned to look at his friend. "I just thought it was something she said all the time."

"Yeah," they turned to look at Gar. "_On_ the TV show. Way before we were born. Only one season. You can't even find it online." Turning to look back at the vintage TV set behind him, Garfield slowly said, "I know mom has a tape somewhere."

Whisper just grinned at the slightly mischievous look in the kid's eyes. He knew that look all too well, having seen it on his own face as well as his cousin's too many times when he was younger.

* * *

Looking at the blood dripping from Garfield's hair, Whisper wanted to go smack his forehead against a tree.

The kid was eight! If Gar was anything like he had been at that age, then orders didn't go over well. Heck, anything contradicting movement didn't go over well!

The teen's stomach only dropped farther as Marie looked up at him. "I told you there would be consequences."

"Always." And it was true. Everything done, no matter how good-willed it was, brought repercussions. Refusing to pay 'protection money' to a mobster got the majority of a family killed. Choosing to act like an emotionless pit got your team killed in a stimulation. And protecting civilians from a hostile army got a small boy _almost_ killed. "Let's get him inside."

* * *

Whisper tried not to feel too bad, or jealous for that matter, as the door was slammed in his face. It had been years since he had seen a mother care so much for her son and in a way, it stung. It probably didn't help that Marie Logan had so many likenesses to Mary Grayson.

Dropping his head into his hands, Whisper started to think aloud. "And on top of all this, Harjavti steps down tomorrow, subjecting all of Quarac to this danger." The teen covered his eyes with his hands before pushing them to the back of his head. "Hey, KF, can you find a news station?"

Whisper looked down at his lap as the speedster attempted to figure out how to work a remote. However, the theme song that started to play on screen prompted him to stand to get a closer look.

Well…that was unexpected.

* * *

Taking down soldiers armed with alien technology was fun. Cracking his knuckles, Whisper looked over all the Bialyan soldiers to make sure they were really unconscious.

"Thank you for saving my father. We will take care him now." The Team nodded before dashing off into the hallway.

Just as Superboy was contacting Miss Martian, a piercing pain hit Whisper's skull. He grasped it in desperation before everything went dark.

* * *

"Dude, saving a country. Pretty big win for you first term as _leader_."

"Yeah, thanks." Whisper gently put a hand on his arm. The punch hadn't hurt, but he couldn't help remembering that this was technically his second time. He was just glad that no one died this time around.

* * *

"And, I assure you, the Wayne Foundation is here to do whatever it can to help you and your people rebuild Quarac. "

Whisper leaned forward in his chair, grinning. Bruce sure could please a crowd, which made it all the more funny when he scared people while wearing the Batsuit.

Watching as KF suddenly remembered his souvenir, Whisper couldn't help but smile. The mission was almost over, Gar still had his family, and it looked like Whisper had one, too; even if it was a weird one.

* * *

Whisper pouted slightly as Alfred took his king using a pawn. A _pawn_! Still, the teen was improving; he had lasted an entire hour against the butler this time. Carefully repositioning the marble chess pieces, Whisper listened attentively to Alfred's question.

"Master Bruce tells me you had a mission in Quarac yesterday."

Whisper nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was…interesting. We met a boy while we were there- Garfield Logan. He was really cool."

"I see. And what was he like?"

Abandoning his self-appointed job of straightening a rook, Whisper looked up at Alfred. The old man's eyes were way too bright for him not to have a trick up his sleeve. "He was nice. Really eager and he really liked superheroes." A small chuckle escaped his mouth at that. "And I'm pretty sure he had the biggest blue eyes in the world. I…it was refreshing, I guess. To see someone who hasn't been scarred by the world. At least not yet."

The last part was muttered, but Alfred caught it nonetheless. He also caught the almost nostalgic air in which Whisper spoke. Perhaps the young master wasn't always so guarded; perhaps he also used to have 'the biggest blue eyes in the world'…or at least the biggest brown eyes.

Was it just Alfred or had Whisper's eyes been changing color over the past few months?

* * *

**AN: And...done! But seriously? 202 reviews? YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! And if any of you don't play chess, then just know that the last scene has Alfred beating Dick really bad at chess.**

**Man, I love chess.**

**Anyway, thanks for your reviews and favorites and follows and views and everything!**

**-GSDLover**


	23. Contacts, Cake, Cemetery, and Fear

**AN: I looked back over my last chapter and just...grrr. I messed it up bad! I was really tired when I did it, so it sounded fine then. But now, it just sounds awful. Even though you guys seem to like it, I'm mad at myself. Oh well. I just wrote it to say that Dick saw himself in Gar. Ta-da! Message/moral delivered!**

**And I'm now working on three chapters at once 'cause my mind is all these places at once. But I'm really satisfied how some of the later chapters are turning out! Get excited and anxious!**

**And as for the eyes' color, I address that in here. I'm just trying to build up a reason as to why...never mind. SPOILER ALERT. NO COMMENT.**

**Disclaimer: Why do we have to put these? Is my name Greg Weisman (disregard the sentence up there) or Brandon Vietti? Obviously, no, so I don't own YJ.**

* * *

Whisper studied his eyes carefully in the mirror. Small specks of blue were sprinkled along the brown, creating a slightly disorienting affect. So far, the long-lasting contacts he had..._found_ had truly been long-lasting, but now, they were starting to dissolve. Apparently, wearing them for two years straight was pushing it.

The teen sighed before running a hand through his hair. Maybe he could ask Bruce for some money...

* * *

Wow. Just...wow.

An actual Thanksgiving feast. With a turkey. And gravy. And silverware made out of _silver. _It was unheard of!

"Are you going to eat or just spend your time gawking at the food?"

Whisper was jerked out of his thoughts by Bruce's abrupt sentence, forcing him to tear his gaze away from the food. "Oh, um...eat, I guess?"

A brief smile flitted across the man's face at Whisper's cluelessness. "Then I suggest you get to it," he prompted, motioning to the plate in front of the teen, only to smirk further at Whisper's dumbfounded stare was directed at the utensils. "The little fork is for dessert and the big spoon is for soup."

Whisper nodded and slowly grabbed a knife and fork before going to work on his turkey.

"So, is this your first Thanksgiving?"

A snort escaped Whisper's mouth, only to be closely followed by coughing. Bruce leaned forward in his seat anxiously; he didn't mean to make the poor boy choke on his dinner! Finally, the teen regained his breath and looked up with a grin.

"Might as well be. I don't think I've ever seen this much food in one place." And it was true. Back with the circus, he and his family would always eat a homey meal in their train car or trailer (depending whether the tour was international or not) before going out into the ring. Then, everyone in the troupe would sit down in a circle and tell what they were grateful for. It was one big, happy family; he even used to call the clowns his honorary uncles.

Needless to say, things were done quite differently at Wayne Manor.

Bruce tilted his head as Whisper became lost in memory. He had noticed that the adolescent had been zoning out more often as of late, whether it be at the Cave or in the Manor. Shaking his head, Bruce started eating again. The teen would eventually realize his food was getting cold, plus nothing on this Earth could keep Bruce from eating Alfred's cooking.

* * *

At exactly 3:34 AM, Whisper crawled out of bed and crept to the music room. He hadn't properly celebrated his birthday in years and nothing was going to prevent him from doing it today, even if he was the only one who knew of the importance of the date.

Sitting down at the piano bench, Dick began to play and sing the peppy tune of 'Happy Birthday.' Later on, he will tell himself it was purely an accident that he said 'Richard' instead of 'Whisper', because he was most certainly _not_ going soft. Not by a long shot.

After playing a few more songs, the teen finally headed back towards his room. Maybe he would innocently suggest to M'gann that a chocolate cake would be fun to make.

Then again, he might ask Alfred instead, despite the fact that it would only make the Englishman more suspicious. Because _no one, _especially those wannabe chefs on TV, could _ever_ compare to the culinary skills of Alfred Pennyworth: Batbutler extraordinaire.

* * *

_He found them._

After a year and a half traveling throughout the U.S., two months in the slums of Gotham, and half a year living part time in Wayne Mansion, Whisper finally found just _which_ cemetery his family was buried in. Somehow, it didn't surprise him that Bruce paid for the service and headstones.

Maybe it was true that he never really tried to find them, not having the courage to scour row upon row of names long forgotten. He wasn't even there for the funeral, so how could he be there an entire four years afterwards? Because of his uncertainty, Whisper didn't look for details. He just downloaded the article stating the approximate area where 'the deceased Flying Graysons lay' and saved it to his glove.

He promised himself that he would visit him by the end of the year. Looking at the calendar that clearly said 'December 3, 2010', he just hoped that he would be ready by that time.

* * *

Flipping around downtown Gotham was not how Whisper wanted to spend his day. Why he even had to help Bats with a villain that had been around for _ages_ was beyond him. Was he able to go on the mission that Batman had assigned for part of the Team or just hang out at the Cave? Absolutely not! Instead, he was forced to take down the Scarecrow's henchmen and help the civilians to safety.

Punching yet another thug into unconsciousness, Whisper quickly took in his surroundings. Batman and Scarecrow could be seen battling it out down the street, the former attempting to edge toward the giant bomb in the middle of an intersection. Just as Whisper was about to go assist in the fight, a shrill cry met his ears.

Whisper turned on his heel, only to spot a middle-aged man backing away from yet another underling. Well apparently, grown men now sounded like little girls. Fighting down a smile, the teen launched himself at the criminal. This one was slightly better than the rest, but not by much. All Whisper had to do was dodge a few sloppy punches, knee him in the gut, then kick him upside the head.

Piece of cake.

That is, until Whisper caught sight of the grenade rapidly beeping on the ground. Normally, a regular grenade would be bad enough, but since that one came from one of _Scarecrow's_ goons, the teen knew that he had to get both himself and the still-cowering civilian out of the blast radius right _then and there._

That plan didn't necessarily work, though, and soon, a cloud of green gas surrounded them both. There was one rebreather in Whisper's utility belt and two people. Whisper, letting his darn hero complex take over, popped the device out and stuffed it into the man's mouth, leaving himself exposed.

Whisper coughed as fear gas worked its way down his throat. Trying to be as loud as his now sore throat would let him, he told his companion, "Keep the rebreather in!" He pointed in the opposite direction of where Batman was fighting. "Go that way and don't stop until," he paused to cough, "until you've turned the corner!" At seeing the man hesitate, Whisper shouted more urgently, "Go!"

At that, the civilian dashed off, leaving Whisper to wobble to a building and lean his back on it. He had worked up an immunity to a large amount of fear gas, but that was _two years_ ago. He just hoped it gave him some protection. He wasn't quite keen on facing his worst fears at the moment.

Whisper groaned at his surroundings started spinning, letting his back slide down the wall in a sitting position. Closing his eyes and leaning it back, Whisper tried to block everything out. _It's not real, Grayson! Get a hold of yourself!_

The soft sound of crunching gravel alerted Whisper to someone approaching and, praying it was Batman, he opened his eyes, ignoring the vertigo that came with the action.

A black smudge appeared through the swirls of everything around him and, soon, it had revealed itself as a tall, dark, figure with pointed ears.

Grinning slightly in relief, Whisper croaked, "Batm-," but cut himself off. The person before him started to morph, becoming lighter and sprouting what looked to be like feathers. The nose became more prominent,

almost resembling a beak, and a predatory gleam appeared in its eyes.

_No, no, please, no._

Whisper pressed his back further in the wall. He _had, had, had _to get away…

* * *

Batman watched his young...semi-partner in worry. Whisper's pupils were dilated and his eyes wide, terror clearly displayed in them. The Caped Crusader quickly took in the gas quickly dispersing, suddenly glad for the rebreather in his mouth. Trying to be as calming as possible, the man advanced slowly, hands held in a placating gesture.

"Don-don't you _dare_ c-come any closer."

Batman paused. It was a wonder Whisper was still coherent, let alone do that he had managed to push away any dread and only show fury in his now narrowed eyes.

Ignoring the threat, Batman kept up his advance, noting Whisper's shaking hands. Slowly, he bent down, only a yard away from the adolescent. Just as Batman started to reach forward, Whisper moved, darting to the right.

Batman, acting on instinct more than anything else, grabbed Whisper's arm before he got out of range. The teen yelped and twisted his arm sharply, looking like a contortionist. Pulling Whisper closer, Batman reluctantly put the boy's left arm behind his back and gripped his right shoulder tightly.

He needed to administer the antidote as soon as possible. Despite Batman's superior strength and the fact that Whisper was in the hardest hold to escape _ever_, the man had no doubt that, somehow, the juvenile _would_ find a way to get away in the near future.

* * *

"Let go of me! Damn it! Let _go_! I don't _want_ to join you! Leave me _alone_!" Whisper continued to struggle, hot tears welling up in his eyes. There was no way he was going with them! Another tug was cut off by Whisper's sleeve being pulled up and a sudden prick on his inner elbow.

Slamming his foot onto the kneecap behind him, he finally managed to break free. He took two steps before falling onto his knees, the ground swimming before him. Whisper rolled over into a sitting position and put one hand to his head.

A black boot came into the adolescent's range of sight and he instantly tensed. Only when he recognized the person inhabiting the boot did he relax, albeit hesitantly.

Looking up at the Dark Knight, he asked shakily, "B-batman? What happened?"

He remembered the Talon, but everything was just so..._fuzzy._

Batman crouched down in front of him, his usually stoic expression expressing worry...for _him_. "You got a dose of fear toxin, but I managed to get you the antidote."

"Y-you mean it...it wasn't real?"

At Batman's nod, Whisper gave a tremulous laugh and collapsed onto his back. "Thank God," he mumbled. Sitting back up suddenly, he looked at Batman with utmost seriousness.

"Next time Scarecrow escapes from Arkham, you are _not_ asking me to help, got it?"

Batman just gave the tiniest of chuckles.

* * *

Bruce sat at the Batcomputer, looking over the mission reports of that day. Chesire and Sportmaster had both escaped, along with the mysterious briefcase they had been carrying. According to Hugo Strange, Ivo had never left Belle Reve, even though Artemis insisted that she saw him and one of his MONQUIs working on what looked to be like an inhibitor collar.

Shaking his head, Bruce leaned back into his chair. The criminal underworld had been...active, lately, interacting in ways they had never done before. Finally, the man shut off his computer and started up the staircase.

Maybe he would check on Whisper before heading to bed himself...

* * *

**AN: And...scene! Okay, I'm gonna go more in depth with what Ivo was working on later. Next chapter is 'Performance'! I'm so eager to begin! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Hope you enjoyed this!**

**-GSDLover**


	24. Poster

**AN: Uh, h-hi? Sorry it took so long. Been SUPER busy the past few weeks. But, on the bright side, I felt so proud when I mowed our entire (giant) yard by myself, FREAKIN' THRICE! But know this! I shan't ever abandon this ****fic; no matter the circumstances, it shall live on! (So if I don't update for a while, it will come eventually. Promise.)**

**Any hate towards Red Arrow comes from Whisper, not me! I like him as a character, but I couldn't resist a rivalry between these two! **

**And a special shout-out to my brand new unofficial beta: TooCreative4Life!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. Well duh. I mean, I'm female and still in middle school, so...**

* * *

His contacts had dissolved the day before, forcing Whisper to use his real eye color on the mission. That was the _only_ reason Whisper's eyes were currently blue. It had absolutely _nothing_ to do with the fact that Whisper didn't want to go back to his childhood home as someone else. Because to imply that he had already found new colored contacts, but he declined the option to wear them was ridiculous. Absolutely absurd.

So, when Whisper walked out of the changing area, dressed in his new red and white, hand-stitched costume, he told himself that as four pairs of eyes turned to him. A few gasps and a muttered, "Wow," was heard, causing Whisper to twitch uncomfortably.

Superboy bluntly stated, "You're eyes are different."

"Colored contacts," Whisper dismissed in what he hoped to be a casual manner. Miss Martian and Superboy just shrugged and looked away, but Artemis and Red Arrow stared at him suspiciously. He should've expected no less from someone who was trained by assassins (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt) and someone who was only on the mission to keep the four of them 'in check'.

Yeah, as if. Knowing Red Arrow, he was more likely to catch the villain, allow it to escape from jail, tail said villain, almost get killed at least four times, finally call in help, leave all the work to the help he summoned, and then lose the villain he was trying to catch. (Whisper couldn't resist the temptation of reading the mission report after Aqualad's trip to Taipei.)

Eventually, the two archers shrugged it off and turned away. Whisper let a tiny sigh of relief escape. He was already stressed enough because he was at his _childhood home_ where everyone thought he was _dead;_ he didn't need to be watched all hours of the day on top of that.

* * *

Dick was pretty sure that the only reason he managed to keep from - _screaming, crying, completely breaking down_ - reacting more extravagantly than he did was because he felt so awful physically. Psychologically he was almost as bad, maybe even worse, but the emotional turmoil inside of him had been pushed to the back of his head for the mission and _only_ for the mission. He had a feeling that as soon as he got back to the Cave, Black Canary was going to receive a very vague, yet very long, letter about the past week.

Sickness-wise, though, he had been fine when the Team had met Haly. Dick had tried to avoid looking straight at the ringmaster, but that was slightly difficult to do when he was the leader of their little 'troupe'. Finally, the teen had settled for peeking through his bangs for the majority of the conversation, though he hadn't missed the way Jack's eyebrows had shot up when the man got his first good look at Dick's eyes.

So much for not drawing much attention from who he considered a grandfather figure.

In fact, Dick had only started feeling ill right as he began climbing the rope ladder leading up to the trapeze platform. At first, he had just assumed it was nerves; he hadn't been on a trapeze since..._that night._ But after having to actually _work_ to complete a triple flip and push harder than usual to get all the way through Conner's barrel, he decided he probably caught the bug that had been going around.

_Just. His. Luck._

But maybe that did make him lucky. Maybe he was trying too hard to fly and that prevented him from subconsciously realizing that _oh gosh, he was doing the exact same thing, which was performing trapeze acts for a crowd, that his family was doing when they died._

Even so, when he heard Jack Haly say those words that would sometimes introduce The Flying Graysons - _God, they sounded so familiar. So _right, _but wrong at the same time - _he wasn't expecting to mess up a single with his legs extended and _miss Megan's hands. _

All too soon, he was falling - _falling just like __his dad, falling just like his mom, falling just like his aunt, falling just like his uncle, falling just like his cousin -_ and watching Megan's frightened face while hearing her shout mentally, _"Whisper!"_

That was probably what got Dick moving. He was Whisper right now, not Dick. He had a job to do and he _was not_ going to screw it up. Attempting, but probably not succeeding, to keep the panicked expression off his face, Dick called back in the mind-link, "_Don't blow our cover!"_

All of Dick's lessons from his mentor - _man, he hated that guy -_ came rushing back and he turned to face the ground. Apparently, being afraid that he was going to fall to his death like his family was a weakness and after dozens of times of being pushed off high places, he had learned how to do fall, with _style._ He might not be able to get away without being paralyzed, but hopefully he would be able to live.

_"But saving your life's_ _okay_?"

Or maybe one of his teammates would toss a barrel upwards and save Dick the trouble of controlling the decent. Dick really loved Conner at that moment, but not _that_ way. He shipped SuperMartian wholeheartedly!**  
**

The sudden feeling of cold metal against Dick's skin combined with the force of the toss elicited a small grunt from Dick, but he couldn't care less. He was going _up_, not down, so he was going to be okay. Reaching as far as his unstable perch would allow, Dick stretched his arm out. He was _almost_ to Megan, just a few more inches...

...Until his fingers missed and he started falling again. Only because he was staring straight into Megan's eyes as he dropped once again did Dick notice the green glow that they took on. As an unseen force seemingly grabbed the teen and hauled him straight into the Martian's waiting hands, Dick allowed himself a slightly hysterical, but completely relieved smile. Looking up at Megan, Dick thought without any real hostility, "_What did I _just _say?"_

"_The crowd couldn't see me use telekinesis from __below._ _Besides_," they both jumped onto the platform and waved, fake smiles adorned on their faces. The crowd was still cheering loudly; they thought it was nothing more than an elaborate stunt. "_I've...been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are."_

"_Yeah, neither am I right now. I think I caught that twenty-four hour bug that's been going around the circus. But, the show must go on." _Pushing away his slight vertigo, Dick started climbing down from the platform. He could feel the sweat running down his face and at that moment, he was wishing he had the flu again instead.

He also wished he hadn't noticed the concerned glance that Haly had given him once he reached the ground.

Standing with one hand resting on the small of Megan's back and vice versa, Dick gave a wide grin and raised his hand higher, attempting to ignore the faint shaking in his legs and perspiration soaking his hair. The applause quieted down and Dick let his happy demeanor drop. The crowd would now be focused on the ringmaster, not the 'Daring Dangers.'

_"Didn't think you'd make it through_."

_"Neither did I."_ And it was true, as ironic as it was. Even after having been on a trapeze since he could walk _and_ facing ruthless training, his acrobatic skills had been rendered almost laughable in only ten minutes. Turning towards the exit, Dick tiredly requested, "_Help me backstage."_ He felt both Artemis and Megan wrap their arms around his back and he slid his arms around their shoulders, glad for the extra support.

He really _did_ feel awful.

* * *

Being elbowed in the back by Roy Harper was not how Dick wanted to spend his time after going backstage. Why the archer couldn't have just used the ever-present mind link or insisted on using more force than necessary, the youth wasn't sure, but thus was the life of having a teammate that hated you and vice versa.

However, once Dick turned to Roy with a rather irritated expression and realized where his attention was supposed to be aimed, Dick felt the majority of his anger melt away. After all, getting information on a suspect definitely made up for almost getting bruised by an overly strong arm. And learning that one of the other acrobats was sick during the performance in Paris was absolutely valuable knowledge.

Dick couldn't help but let his frown deepen as he caught sight of Pop Haly moving over to the man's new 'friend'. He never did like the authorities that much, probably because of his habit of dodging them everywhere he went. Now, not only was their the initial problem of clearing the ringmaster's name, but also the fact that an official was snooping around, too.

But maybe he could use that to his advantage...

The teen's thoughts were cut off by the suit-adorned male's arrival at the area where the Team was gathered. Pulling out a badge from his jacket, the man said, "Faraday, Interpol. New act?"

Being the leader for this particular mission (Yay him!), Dick answered confidently, "Yeah. Just joined the tour."

"Probably clears you." Folding up the badge once again, Faraday replaced it in his coat. "But don't get too comfortable. Haly's going down for this." Without another word, the agent stalked off, leaving a pissed Dick in his wake.

He wasn't sure exactly _why_ that accusation rubbed him the wrong way, it just did. Maybe it was the fact that Pop Haly's honesty was the reason Dick's family was dead. If the circus had payed the 'protection money', then the Flying Graysons would still be alive and whole, but instead, Pop Haly had done the right thing, and while it upheld all the right morals, it caused the death of five amazing people.

Still, Dick could never bring himself to blame Pop Haly for what happened. His pseudo grandfather was devastated by the event almost as much as Dick and probably would do anything to take it back. Dick wondered if Pop Haly still had nightmares about the crunching of the bones and the splatter of the bloo-.

With a jolt, Dick jerked himself out of his current thoughts. Those were _bad_ thoughts and bad thoughts were, well, bad.

_No more bad thoughts for the rest of the mission_, Dick promised himself.

* * *

Dick should really stop making promises to himself.

Staring at the six blue silhouettes, caught leaping gracefully through the air, the notions previously deemed 'bad' had bubbled to the surface and Dick found himself increasingly glad that M'gann had cut him from the mind link as soon as he left the train car. He hadn't _meant_ to explode like that, but how they tossed around the idea of Pop Haly being dirty made his skin crawl. However, Dick's fierce defending didn't consume all of his thoughts, as much as he hoped it would.

_Ladies and gentlemen, the Flying Graysons!_

That single line replaying in Dick's head caused his hands to start to tremble. It had been _so long_ since he was here last and he thought he could handle it, but here he was, mentally collapsing because of some ink on paper. _Stupid,_ Dick scolded himself. _I need to stop being so sentimental and just __focus. It doesn't matte-._

Had Dick been honest with himself, he would've known that he was glad for the incoming transmission that kept him from saying his family's death _didn't matter._

Another beep in his ear brought Dick's attention fully away from the poster. The teen distractedly pulled his hand from his pocket and pressed his com.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Dude, where are you?"

Wally's familiar voice floated through the device, instantly making Dick feel better. He and the speedster had really grown close over the past few months and if Dick were ever to share his real name with anyone on the Team, it would be Wally. "Confidential mission, f-from Batman."

"Wow. You know what I'm doing? Making a baloney sandwich, kind of like you just did. I talked to Tornado. You guys are not on a mission, not an official one anyway." You know, if the redhead would ever quit calling Dick out on his lies. It got annoying after awhile.

Dick sighed. Might as well admit the truth...or at least some of it. "A friend. Someone I...met while traveling. Jack Haly, owner of Haly's circus."

"Never heard of him. So, what's that got to do with the mission?"

"He's implicated in this global crime spree. Someone in the shows dirty, but I _know_ Haly's clean. I _have_ to prove it to everyone else or he might lose the circus. I-I don't want that to happen to a friend." Wincing at how some raw emotion (_more like desperation)_ made its way into his voice, Dick held his breath as he waited to see if Wally would believe Pop Haly was _just_ a friend.

On the other end of the conversation, Wally swallowed another bite of his _delicious _sandwich and perked up indignantly. "Then why not bring me along? I know you better than anybody else on the Team and as a friend I could, I don't know, help another one of your friends out. You know, friend-to-frie-."

Dick cut Wally off. The speedster tried not to be too hurt because, obviously, there was something...off about the acrobat. It hadn't been evident at first, but as the conversation had progressed, Wally realized Whisper sounded distracted, upset. Now, Wally just needed to find out why.

"I didn't bring you along _because_ you know me better. I don't want my best pal questioning my objectivity." Dick swallowed. He knew that he was just scared Wally would figure out that Dick's connection to the circus was much more than just a _'I met them while traveling.'_

"Dude, that's what a best pal's for."

Dick smiled.

* * *

"Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?"

"Not on foreign tours," Dick answered immediately. He would know if Zitka was here. It would be so awes- bad. It would be _very, very_ bad because she would want to play with him and try to blow his cover of, you know, being _dead_. Having his oldest friend fawning over him would _not_ make him one of the happiest guys on Earth, so it didn't matter that the elephant wasn't here.

_(He wished Zitka was there.)_

* * *

Confession time: Dick did a cartwheel accompanied by a cheer when Red Arrow finally said there was no mole.

* * *

"So, the show will go on and I have a feeling I have you Dangers to thank."

Dick shrugged and looked up happily at Pop Haly. "Don't know what you mean." He had finally gotten over his paranoia of being recognized because of his eyes. Pop Haly would've confronted him by now if he knew.

"No," he chuckled, "Of course not. But I'm guessing you'll be leaving now."

They both shook hands and Dick tried not to let his disappointment show as he said, "Time to move on."

"Well, Dick, I'll miss you." Pop Haly smiled gently and Dick could've sworn his eyes were wetter than they had been a few minutes ago.

Dick blinked owlishly and straightened up. That was bad, like _very_ bad _(Dick tried not to feel to happy at hearing his real name come from someone elses mouth instead of 'Whisper')_. His training was the only thing that kept his mind from going blank. "It's Dan! Dan Danger."

"Right, right. Sorry about that." Pop Haly put both hands on Dick's shoulders and knelt down in front of him. The mans eyes were definitely getting wetter. "Did you know, a family used to live here at the circus. They were called the Flying Graysons; that's their poster." Pop Haly nodded his head at the colorful display on the left of his wall. "But, they were...murdered a few years ago. The youngest wasn't on the trapeze when they fell."

Dick bit his lip and willed the tears in his eyes to go away. It didn't work.

"He disappeared right after the performance ended and was declared dead about a year later. Dan, you're so similar to him, yet so different. There's nothing like the sight of a Grayson on the trapeze. Can't fake that, can't hide it. So, what do you say you do an old ringmaster one last favor?"

Dick hesitated. His cover was blown and he knew it, but the thing was, he didn't feel _upset._ It felt like something inside of him had been set free. Pop Haly didn't know the full story, but at least someone other than the League of Talons knew he was alive. Knew that the little kid who was so optimistic and full of life was still fighting his way through life.

Finally, the adolescent just lunged forward and hugged Pop Haly, nodding against the older man's shoulder. The ringmaster hugged right back.

It was whispered, but Dick still heard it. "Thank you, my little Robin."

* * *

M'gann was shocked. No, she was awestruck.

Whisper's acrobatic skills had always been impressive; he used seemingly impossible twists while fighting bad guys. But as soon as he stepped off of his platform, his old flips seemed rudimentary, mediocre. Even when he had been on the trapeze the few nights before, it wasn't this...this spectacular.

The way he flipped looked so natural, it was like _he _was the one who could fly and M'gann was the one that didn't have any powers. For the rest of the night, the Martian watched her companion closely, barely making her own cues.

But who wouldn't be shocked?

After all, it was the first time she had seen Whisper fly.

* * *

**AN: Anyone get the significance of my calling him 'Dick' instead of 'Whisper'? If so, the reward below applies to you, too!**

**Also, I'm attempting to remain as close to canon as possible and I'm waiting for at least one of you to catch what I'm implying. Remember, I've read the YJ comic with Dick's backstory in it and the only thing I changed is that Dick got acrobat-napped before Bruce got there.**_  
_

**That's the ONLY thing I changed (HINT HINT!). **

**If anyone gets what I'm implying, virtual German Shepherd puppies for you.**

**Question Time! Do you guys want me to have really REALLY long chapters throughout Dick's Talon Time (You know it's going to happen) so I'll have 30 chapters or do you want shortish chapters and have 35 chapters? Answer with reviews or poll.**

**Next chapter ends the canon arc/area and takes a turn into why it's definitely an AU. Be afraid; be _very_ afraid...**

**-GSDLover**


	25. Transmission

**AN: No one guessed the cannon thing! *pouty face* But wait a second, doesn't that mean it will be an even bigger shock? MWAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for all your reviews! Due to popular request, I'm gonna have to go with longer chapters. **

**Thanks again to my beta: TooCreative4Life**

**Disclaimer: Is Wally still in the same dimension as Artemis (still in denial)? No? That's proof I don't own YJ.**

* * *

It was all Superboy's super-hearing's fault. If his ears weren't so good, then he wouldn't have heard the beeping and the Team wouldn't have found the device. It looked like a rustic recorder, like the ones used in old detective movies, but the fact that it was deploying almost inaudible beeps in all frequencies guaranteed it was anything but.

Despite Whisper's hesitation, Aqualad decided to bring it back to the Cave and give it to Batman, so in a few minutes, they were all in the Bioship, well on their way from the old warehouse in Star City that had been transmitting unknown signals. Whisper had a feeling that they had found the source of those unknown signals, but whether it was for better or worse was still undetermined.

The device had been placed on the dashboard of the Bioship, where is resided for the trip, still broadcasting the quiet beeping that only Superboy could hear properly. They had been traveling for ten minutes, only a fourth of their estimated flight time, when Superboy suddenly spoke up and said, "It's Morse code." The entire Team turned to the clone, eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh, Supey, _what's_ Morse code?"

Superboy gave an irritated look to Kid Flash and crossed his arms. Clearly, he figured that whatever he was talking about should've been obvious. The Team was still clueless, except for Whisper, who had a hunch, but hoped he was wrong.

"The thing's beeping. I just realized it."

Of _course_. Only two days after Christmas and something mysterious and potentially troublesome had already shown up. Why Whisper didn't ask Santa for a year of peaceful missions, he wasn't sure. But then again, Bruce and Alfred's gifts of money (lots of it) and a permanent room at the mansion were pretty awesome, too.

Money and a room didn't fix the issue at hand though. "Can you decipher the meaning," questioned Aqualad.

Superboy scowled further and scrunched up his eyebrows. "I-I think it's a code. Like a list of letters and numbers." The clone concentrated for a moment before speedily rattling off, "B-2-r-5-d-j-2-t-s-1-d-0-b-3-h-a."

Quickly pulling up his holo-computer, Whisper entered the code before double-checking it with Superboy. Upon receiving confirmation, Whisper turned to Aqualad. "Do we see what it does now or wait until we're back at the Cave with Batman?"

The Atlantean paused. Something about the entire situation wasn't quite right. It all seemed too easy, too planned. Perhaps having Batman assist them in this would be beneficial to the Team's overall success. Facing the resident hacker, Aqualad calmly commanded, "Wait until we arrive at the Cave."

Whisper just nodded and turned his glove off.

* * *

The good thing was that Batman was waiting at the Cave when they arrived. The bad thing was that Batman was waiting at the Cave when they arrived. Whisper was curious, but not to the point where he wasn't _extremely_ wary of what the code would mean.

Walking into the Cave felt like it took twice as long as it should've. Their was...a feeling in the air, a warning, but none of the others seemed effected. Batman, Superman, and Red Tornado, who were waiting for the Team in the mission briefing room, didn't even look on edge.

It was only Whisper.

Five minutes later, after the situation had been confirmed and the code had been confirmed by Superman (who apparently had been dragged there by the Dark Knight himself), Batman pulled up a holographic screen and sent out a frequency using the cipher. Not a moment after that, a bar appeared, filling up slowly. Over it, a black and gray owl was frozen in flight, its talons the only white thing in the picture. As soon as the animal popped up, Whisper froze. He needed to cut the transmission, _now._

However, just as he took a step forward, the screen transformed into gray. A second passed, and it cleared, displaying a man sitting in the middle of an incredibly dark room. He had dark, slicked back hair and a thin mustache hovering between his nose and upper lip. Feliciano Dimuerte gave a predatory smile and clenched his hands together under his chin, leaning forward. "Why hello...you're going by Whisper now, correct?"

"What do you _want_," Whisper gritted out. He knew he should be scared half to death, or at least be more respectful unless he wanted to end up severely maimed, but he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but anger. It seemed every time Whisper sound somewhere he _belonged_, where he was _happy,_ Feliciano and the Talons ended up ruining it. Even if they had nothing to do with his family's death, they still ripped him away from the circus and here they were again, threatening to rip him away from the Team. Last time he had been at the base was not pleasant. It had lasted for two years, two years of pain of torture, and he knew for a fact he wasn't going back there. After all, Feliciano couldn't hurt him. He was probably in another country; all he was was floating pixels and words.

The assassin just chose to ignore Whisper's obvious anger and replied slightly airily. "Oh nothing much. I was just wondering if you happened to know where one of my old students was."

At that, Whisper _really_ wanted to skip the formalities and start cussing Feliciano out. For his time with the Talons to be referred to so..._casually_ was not okay. Luckily, Whisper managed to calm his inner anger. Instead, the teen settled for glaring and saying, "I never took you for the kid type."

The man just raised an eyebrow, dark malice glittering in his eyes. "Well, we both know appearances can be deceiving. Now, his name is Richard Grayson, orphaned acrobat and all that. Perhaps you've heard of him?" When no response came form Whisper except for a clenched jaw and fists, Feliciano just kept talking. "Oh, come now. I know for a fact you know who he is; I'll even bet you know _where_ he is. All I need from you is to give him a message."

The anger inside Whisper swelled further. At the back of his head, he noted that Batman would be trying to figure out how his biggest failure was alive, so if anything needed to be said without the Dark Knight fully registering it, now was the time. But, honestly, Whisper couldn't think of a single thing that needed to be said except for some rather foul language. Still, the only way to get Feliciano off his back was to carry the conversation through to the end, so he had better continue. "And that message would be?"

"Nothing too important. Just that we, that is the League of Talons and myself, would be extremely grateful if he would be so kind as to meet with us."

_That_ caught Whisper's attention. He had learned to read Feliciano's movements and the man was practically _oozing_ confidence, even through the cameras. The question was, _why_ was Feliciano so arrogant. Whisper cast a quick glance from the corner of his eye at Batman, who was staring at the ground, still hypothesizing ways of the acrobat still being alive. The teen turned his attention back to the screen, swallowed, and said dangerously, "Why would he agree to that?"

The grin grew. "Why wouldn't he? We, after all, are his _family_. And if he's slightly reluctant, I hear he's found a group of people he cares about _very_ much. It would be a shame if they got injured."

All of the anger rushed out of Whisper's body, only to be replaced by dread. Feliciano was threatening the Team and the League. Whisper felt like hitting himself on the head. He had let his emotions get the best of him and hadn't realized that of course the Talons would have a backup plan; they weren't stupid enough to think Whisper would come with them at the drop of a pin. And while the youth had faith in the heroes, they would be unprepared on how to fend off the Talons. They would all eventually die. "Where," Whisper croaked, defeated. The assassin had played the perfect card and knowing Feliciano, he would follow up on it.

"Why that's easy, where it all began." On that ominous note, the screen clicked to black, leaving a shell-shocked Whisper and confused heroes. The silence only lasted for a few moments, though. Superman, Red Tornado, and the majority of the Team turned to Batman, who had gotten over his surprise in time to hear the last few sentences of Whisper's conversation. The Dark Knight silently turned around and pulled up a keyboard, already getting straight to work.

Whisper bit down on his lip, eyebrows furrowed. He _really _didn't want to do it, but he knew it would eventually come. As soon as he was sure that Batman's eyes were off of him, Whisper bolted. They wouldn't know he had left until they turned to look at him, and by then, he would be gone. The teen dashed into his room and snatched up his red notebook. He had prepared for that after Wally's heart transplant mission, despite desperately wishing that he never had to use that particular contingency plan.

Whisper pulled off his right glove and placed it next to the notebook on his bed. He turned to go, but paused at the door. Looking down guiltily, Whisper made a split second decision and hurried back to his bed. He had already added an extra note at the end of the letter to try and lift the readers' spirits, but this needed to be said. Scribbling one last sentence at the end, Dick rose before turning once again.

Knowing what was going to happen next, Dick forged onward. The last time he had gone with the Talons, it hadn't been voluntary, but now, it was different. He had a chance to do something with his life for others and the last few months definitely wouldn't be in vain. Dick had made friends, had grown close to these people. Now, he was wondering how he ever survived without Wally's constant jokes or Artemis' tough-girl attitude. Dick definitely couldn't fathom life without Bruce's constant presence, always there, always strong. In return for everything they had ever given him, he was going to do everything his parents had ever expected of him and help others, even if it killed him. Danger be damned, Dick was not going to let anyone so much as touch the Team.

Whisper steeled himself before walking into the garage. Pushing his motorcycle to the door, he looked back regretfully. Shaking his head, Dick mounted the bike and started it, determined to not let anyone harm his _real_ family.

* * *

Batman was an idiot. He should've realized after the conversation between Whisper and the man dubbed 'Feliciano' that something wasn't right. But he was too shocked by the news of Richard Grayson being _alive_ to fully pay attention to the youngest member.

What he considered his greatest failure wasn't near as bad as he originally thought. The boy was alive; being hunted by a newly discovered and deadly organization, but alive. Unfortunately, Batman's feelings for a boy he had never even met had distracted him from bestowing any attention to the teen that he had formed almost a father-son bond with.

When Batman turned back from his unsuccessful attempt at tracking the transmission signal, the Team was one member short and anxiety didn't waste any time in settling into Batman's stomach. The man only hesitated a second before taking off to Whisper's room, the other assembled heroes in his wake.

By the time the group arrived at the door, there was no sign of Whisper except for one of his computer gloves and his red music notebook, flipped to the last page. Superman floated forward and grabbed the notebook, leaving Batman a little angry that Superman was taking control when _he_ was closer to Whisper. However, the Dark Knight's inner rantings were cut off when Whisper's holographic computer flew into his hands, having been tossed by the Big Blue Boy Scout himself. The latter probably knew that Batman wanted to search all the files it contained.

Looking away from Batman, the Kryptonian skimmed the writing in the notebook, face paling as he progressed, before looking up and gravely stating, "Assemble the League."

* * *

It was official. The Talons were jerks.

The fact that they wanted to meet Dick where he was kidnapped by them last time, right after his family _died_, was completely insensitive. To be fair, they _were _bloodthirsty and psychotic assassins with horrible fashion sense.

They were still jerks, though.

Dick slowed his motorcycle to a stop at the edge of the biggest field in Gotham, but in reality, it was barely inside the city limits. Popping down the kickstand, the teen slowly pulled off his helmet and slid from his seat. He didn't see anyone, but with the Talons, that meant about as much as if he was deaf and didn't hear anything in the vicinity. His theory was confirmed when several figures detached themselves from the woods at the other end of the field.

The adolescent placed his helmet on the bike seat and started forward, brushing his hand along his hip to be sure that he didn't have his utility belt with him. He had left it in the Cave's garage to make sure that the League of Jerks _(that actually was a good name for them)_ wouldn't be able to get their hands on any of Batman's equipment.

Can anyone say Apocalypse-due-to-evildoers-using-Bruce's-stuff?

Taking a deep breath, Dick stepped to the middle of the space left by the semicircle that had been formed by the Talons. There were nine of them in sight and no doubt more were hiding in the trees. The youth put on what he hoped was a cocky smirk and laughed airily. Four of the assassins shifted uncomfortably while two others twitched almost imperceptibly. Stepping forward, Dick put both hands behind his back and made a show of looking around with his stunning blue eyes. He had removed his contacts on the ride over; there really wasn't a use for wearing them around the Talons.

"You know, I'm kind of disappointed Feliciano didn't come to collect me personally. Am I really _that_ worthless to him?"

The Talons didn't answer, although several trembled at how he threw around their leader's name so casually, making Dick's eyes narrow. The League of Jerks was always up to _something_ and no way they would've been here without a way to restrain him. Granted, to be taken captive was exactly the reason Dick was there, but that didn't mean he didn't want to be completely blind as to what was going on.

"Sooo, what happens now? We aren't just going to stand here all night, right? I mean I'm fine with it, but I doubt some of your new recruits could handle it. Assassin quality _has_ gone down in the past yea-." Dick cut himself off and straightened, hands falling from behind his back. Did he just hear a stick break?

Too late, Dick realized that there was someone behind him, a tenth Talon. A sharp click was heard as a weight settled around his neck, making his eyes widen. Just as the teen turned, a high wiring noise was heard and electricity raised into his body. Dick screamed -_ who wouldn't? _- and collapsed, wishing his vision would stop going in and out of focus. One arm was trapped awkwardly underneath his body, the other draped over his side, and his breaths were coming out in pained gasps. Gradually, his breathing slowed and became more shallow, black dots dancing along his vision.

Only a second later, Dick's head fell limply to the grass with a light groan, eyes rolled back in his head. He just hoped Bruce found the letter.

* * *

**AN: Yep, I pulled a Slade! Don't worry though, this isn't going to go the same way as it did in TT... Mwahahahahaha...**

**Reasoning for the transmission code? Right here: b2r5dj2ts1d0b3ha**

**b2: Two Batmen (Bruce and Dick)**

**r5: Five Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, and Damian)**

**d: Dick**

**j2: Jason (lived twice)**

**t: Tim**

**s1: Stephanie ('died' but she really only lived once)**

**d0: Damian (0 because he's GONE! FOREVER! DAAAMMMMIIIIAAAAANNNNN! *gross sobbing*)**

**b3: Three Batgirls (Barbara, Cassandra, Stephanie)**

**h: Helena**

**a: Alfred (best for last)**

**-GSDLover**


	26. Songs and Home

**AN: I'm awful, aren't I? Sorry for taking so long. My mom's teaches, so the end of the year is always SUPER hectic for us. Plus, my sister was all like 'you're a good writer but I don't like superheroes. Write a story for Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons!' Because I'm a good sister, I'm now spending some of my time on that. And 33 reviews? We broke the previous record of 31 reviews per chapter! (Part of that is probably from lack of updates, but details, details.)**

**First off, stuff is about to go down! This is over 6,000 words, so just wait and see what I mean...I have a feeling we're gonna break the previously mentioned record again.**

**Secondly, for those of you Spitfire shippers who are reading this, I added something special! Mwahahahaha!**

**Thirdly, thanks to my fantastic beta, TooCreative4Life! Let's give her a round of applause for fixing all my late-night-writing mistakes and dealing with me messing around with my writing style!**

**And I now have a Tumblr, same username and everything, where I am a geek 24/7! Check me out if you want a full does of nerdiness daily.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own YJ. Otherwise, I would rename Warner Bros. Warner Sisters.**

* * *

**Day 1**

Not twenty minutes after Superman's panicked request, all Leaguers, both present and future members, were gathered in the Cave's living room, having each been briefed to some extent. The Kryptonian himself soon stepped forward and held up the letter before beginning to read.

_Dear Team, League, and Bats,_

Bruce started a bit at hearing his name separate from the rest.

_It's probably obvious to you now that the League of Talons aren't just widespread rumors circulating in the criminal underworld. They're real and, more often than not, deadly. I'm familiar, I guess you could say, with them. No, I don't work for them and I was never the mole. That much I can promise you. But, that doesn't mean I've never interacted with them. _

_I once told Wally that my glove has a petabyte of storage on it. For those of you who aren't exactly 'tech savvy', that's more than enough to hold everything I know about every single villain out there, the Talons, and, most importantly, Richard Grayson (But he prefers Dick). _

A few of the less mature heroes gathered snorted a bit at that, despite the tense atmosphere.

_However, there's a catch. In order to get access to the information, you need the password. That way, being the impulsive heroes you are, you won't barge into the Talon's base unprepared and blow everything up. You'll actually plan while you try to figure out how to unlock the files. I've left hints for it in the reachable data, plus Bats and Wally can add in what they know about me. All in all, work together, be smart, and you might actually determine how to beat the Talons. _

_You guys won't be seeing me for a while. Dick and I'll stall as best as we can, but the odds are against us. In other words, get your detective juices flowing or else it'll be too late by the time you get there. And all assembled heroes, don't you dare let Bats get all broody; it gives him too many wrinkles._

_Sincerely,_

_Whisper (Dick too, even though he isn't here)_

_P.S. Tell Agent A I expect a plate of cookies waiting for me when I get back._

_P.P.S. Dick doesn't blame you, B. He never did._

By the time Superman finished reading the letter, M'gann was crying and the rest were speechless. The Leaguers that had never fully trusted Whisper were still suspicious, not believing his former statement of not being the mole. However, the rest of them were wide-eyed, touched by how much danger he had placed himself in.

The first to get over his surprise was Batman, which was expected. Lifting the hand that had been gripping the holo-computer tightly, he pushed the button which would power it up.

He _knew_ something wasn't adding up, but he didn't have time to think about that. Somehow, Whisper knew that Dick was alive and they had met. Why Whisper had never mentioned knowing the teen, he wasn't sure, but he couldn't stop and ponder it, then that would just make the two boys stay with the Talons longer.

So, as Whisper had said, time to 'get those detective juices flowing.'

* * *

**Day 1**

When Dick came to, he thought he was in the Batcave. It made sense, considering how dark it was, but as the youth's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and he realized he was anywhere but.

The room was small, about seven feet by seven feet, and made of grungy stones. A single lightbulb with a thin chain attached was the only source of light and the total furniture consisted of an extremely uncomfortable cot, which Dick was currently occupying. Across the room, a wooden door without a knob stood, no doubt thicker than it looked.

Dick sighed and lifted a hand to his neck. He was met with cold metal: an inhibitor collar.

_Stupid,_ Dick scolded himself. _Now, even if I tried to escape, they could knock me unconscious before I exited the building._ The teen's inner thoughts were interrupted by a harsh rapping on the door.

A rough voice drifted through the door, speaking in strongly articulated English. "Get up and put your hands behind your head! Any funny business and we shock you!"

Knowing better than to try the patience of the Talons, Dick stood and did as he was told, hating every minute of it. Not a second later, the door was flung open and two people crowded into the room, both armed with guns, while a third waited in the doorway.

After the barrel of two guns were pressed between his shoulder blades and his hands were secured in front of him with handcuffs, the adolescent allowed himself to be led into a long hallway mirroring the design of his own room. The two assassins with the guns stood behind him, while the third walked ahead, leading the way. After only a few steps, Dick decided he should at least have some fun while he could. "Wow, I'm kinda honored. I mean, come on, three of you guys just for little old me?"

His only reply was a sharp hit to the back of his head via the stock of a gun.

"Well then," Dick muttered. "Guess the Talons haven't gotten friendlier over the years."

The quartet continued on in silence. As far as Dick could tell, his cell was at the far end of the long hallway they had just walked down. At the other extremity of said hallway, it turned to the right, leading straight into a steep spiral staircase. A few missteps resulting in more strikes to the head occurred before Dick finally reached the next level and scowled further at what he saw.

The floor was covered in lush carpet and decorative lamps lined the walls. The lighting was still dim, but not near as much as it had been below. At the end of that passageway, two extravagant door stood, engraved with several owls flying in front of the moon, sitting on branches, and devouring their prey.

No matter how long Dick lived, he was never going to forget that door. It had haunted his nightmares every time he slept for a year after his original escape and a day never passed when the mere thought of it didn't send a shiver down his spine. The third Talon stopped and knocked lightly on the right door, completely contrasting with Dick's own greeting.

A voice completely devoid of emotion answered, automatically making Dick tense and wipe his face clean of anything he might be feeling. After all, old habits die hard. The frontman swiftly pushed the doors open as if they weighed nothing - which they didn't, Dick recalled randomly - and the two guns were pressed further into Dick's back.

Dreading what was coming, the teen walked forward, shoulders hunched in as if they would protect him. But as Dick looked into the gleaming eyes of Feliciano Dimuerde, he knew nothing was going to protect him now.

* * *

**Day 1**

Songs. All they found was dozens of songs.

When Batman first pulled up a larger display of Whisper's computer files, it only had two folders on it. The first one was locked, sealed so tight Batman couldn't even hope to get past it. The second had a weak password system, one that was cracked in under a minute, only to reveal over thirty _more_ folders, labeled using months accompanied by what year it was made in.

Batman clicked on the file labeled 'February 2008' and raised a single eyebrow at what he saw. There were eight audio recordings, all done in the space of one week; but it displayed clearly enough what Whisper expected them to use to find him. Not wasting any time, he assigned one folder to each person and ordered them to record anything they learned about Whisper form each song.

Not two minutes later, League and Team members alike were scattered around the living room, headphones plugged in to various iPods (curtesy of a certain Bruce Wayne).

* * *

**Day 1**

"Faster."

Dick clenched his hands and bit his tongue. He supposed he should feel lucky they had started out with intellectual training, but after reciting the states and their capitals sixteen times already, he wasn't feeling so lucky. That, accompanied by the fact that he refused to turn out like he did last time he was with the Talons, propelled him to say, "If you wanted it done faster, then maybe you should've kidnapped a speedster."

In hindsight, and from his newfound position on the floor, maybe that wasn't the best idea. At least, that was what the red hand mark on Dick's cheek was now screaming at him.

"Funny," Feliciano spat at him. "I don't remember you being this _rebellious_ the first time around."

Rising, Dick glared and dusted off his pants. "Well maybe you should get your memory checked." In the back of his head, the teen told himself that _it was stupid; insulting a highly trained assassin would only get him killed,_ but Dick decided to pull a Superboy and disobey orders, even though they were his own. "While you're at it, might I suggest an insanity test?"_  
_

The newly declared psychopath's eyes narrowed before he turned on his heel, heading to the door of the small room that almost exactly matched Dick's own cell, other than the fact the cot was replaced by a whiteboard, which Dick found slightly out of place on the dingy stone walls. Feliciano stopped with his hand on doorknob, head turned so that one eye could be seen glanced at Dick's stiff form. "Someone will be back shortly. Until then, _stay put_."

Dick felt a slight pang at hearing that, remembering the time Bruce had told him those last two words in the exact same tone when he tried to sneak out to go on patrol two hours after dislocating his thumb. Instead of pushing the thought aside as he had been doing for the past hour, the boy let the thought linger, welcoming the warmth it provided it his desolate surroundings.

Slowly, the teen's muscles loosened, his stance becoming less guarded and hostile, as he became lost in contemplation. Dick still believed that he did the right thing in implying that Whisper and Dick were two separate people; he figured he had dropped enough bombshells on Bruce for one day. Not to mention, he might be slightly...nervous about how Bruce would react. What if he didn't accept him? What if he arrested Dick for all the crimes he did when he was younger?

For the first time, Dick thought back to his late childhood years. He had been a model student to the Talons, but to the League, what would he be considered? A misguided child? An villainous delinquent? Would he even be able to talk to his friends again after they figured out what he'd _done_?

The thought of never playing video games with Wally or baking cookies with M'gann again was depressing, that was for sure.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing Dick to instantly fall back into a light fighting stance. His uneasiness didn't lessen as a Talon - Feliciano's personal henchmen, Alexander, Dick guessed - walked in adorned in full uniform, excluding the cape. He stopped a mere three feet away from Dick, whose stare bored into the black mask, and reached behind him to his back, before pulling out a thick, smooth piece of wood almost two feet long with a strap attached to the end.

A police baton.

Dick's glare hardened as he took a half-step back, fully prepared to fight back. But, as the Talon reached a gloved hand forward to grab Dick's arm, he had to remind himself that he wasn't there to cause trouble; he was there to stall so Bruce could find him. Fighting back would only speed along the process of Feliciano losing his patience; which would undoubtedly end badly for the teen.

So, Dick allowed his forearm to be grasped firmly, with more strength used than necessary, and only let out a sharp gasp when he was thrown to the ground, slamming against the wall in the process. He didn't try to rise, he knew that would only earn him more beatings, and pressed further against the wall as the Talon advanced on him. A hand was raised, the baton displayed like a flag in it, before it came rushing downward, right onto the side of Dick's shoulder.

Gritting his teeth as his body was propelled a few feet sideways, Dick pushed down the indignation rising inside of him and just grunted when the baton came crashing upwards into his stomach.

It was then that the Talon started speaking, each time in a different language, but Dick still understood each recitation nonetheless. "You will obey._ You will obey. You will obey. You will obey**.**_" The assassin proceeded to declaim the message in Russian, Vietnamese (Dick tried not to dwell on the connection to Artemis' heritage), French, Spanish, and even Romani. When the League of Jerks started teaching their trainees _that_ particular language, Dick wasn't sure; but if he wasn't being beaten by a now-bloody bludgeon, he would've protested greatly.

Eventually, one hit grew into many and the sharp pain of the individual strikes subsided into ongoing aches, only occasionally being picked out by small grunts from Dick. No bones were broken, which was definitely planned, but the bruises and other lacerations would be sure to remain a while, as would the busted lip. Finally, after what seemed like hours, though the boy was sure it hadn't been more than thirty minutes, the Talon stopped, the room going silent once more.

It was then that the door opened and Feliciano waltzed in, the tiniest, inhuman grin on his face. He stopped at Dick's battered form, which was halfway curled into the fetal position and still pressed against the wall. With a rough hand, the man lifted him up, supporting the boy by the underarm, and shook him to get his attention. "Well, what have you learned?"

Through the eye that wasn't swollen shut, Dick saw the adrenaline present in Feliciano's eyes. He _enjoyed _it, the torture, the pain, and it made Dick sick to his stomach. Still, mumbling due to the fact that his lip was bleeding, Dick managed to rasp out, "I-I will obey."

Even as he said it, Dick knew that he wouldn't.

* * *

**Day 2**

Artemis wasn't sure exactly when Wally came to sit beside her on the couch, listening to his own collection of songs through earbuds, or when he managed to stretch his arm casually enough that it lay behind her head, the fabric of his shirt barely brushing her shoulders, that she didn't notice, or even when she slumped into his touch the slightest bit because the song she was listening to was slow and quiet, almost like a lullaby, and it was well past midnight.

However, she was aware of the precise moment that Wally leaned down and let his lips lightly caress the edge of her ear, whispering as he did so, "I hope Whisper's alright."

Turning to face him, honestly surprised at the gentleness held in his voice, Artemis found herself suddenly staring into a pair of _very _bright, _very_ close emerald eyes. Her words died in her throat, which was stupid because Wally's facial features were nothing new. They had just never been so...relaxed and tender. Artemis lightly cleared her throat, her hands nervously tugging out her own pair of earbuds, which were still playing that damn lullaby, and lifted her eyes up to Wally's. "Y-yeah. I hope so, too."

A slight frown tugged at her lips, eyebrows furrowing in worry, before she took notice of the dazed expression on the speedster's face. "Wally, you alright?"

Wally slowly nodded, his eyes roaming downwards to a spot that was a few inches shy of her eyes, and murmured, "I guess I can't help thinking about how sometimes..." He leaned forward even more, so that she could feel his breath grazing her lips, and a spark of desire burned not for the first time in the pit of Artemis' stomach. "...You don't realize how amazing something is until it's gone."

Getting the vague sense that Wally wasn't talking about Whisper anymore, Artemis hummed in agreement, craning her neck upward.

The stayed like that for a few moments, eyes darting from the other's eyes to their lips, only a centimeter apart, before Wally leaned in further and breathed against her, "I should've done this a long time ago."

Nodding, Artemis closed the gap and said through their kiss, "No kidding." The archer, having said all she needed to, snaked her arms around Wally's neck, ignoring the sounds of gasping and sputtering coming from Barry and Ollie in the background, who were thankfully shushed by Batman - _God bless him._

They both shifted so that their torsos were facing each other and Wally slipped his arms around Artemis' middle, pulling her closer against him. She didn't protest, only let out a small sigh of happiness, before they both became lost in the joy of finally succumbing to their raging hormones.

In the back of his head, Wally swore he heard a kind, elderly voice say, "_Find your own little spitfire. One who won't let you get away with nothin'."_

* * *

**Day 2**

Dick didn't get a break after the baton debacle; in fact, the teen wasn't allowed to stop training until a time that Dick was sure, despite the lack of clocks and windows, was well after the usual hour he got home with Bruce after patrols.

_Home_.

The word bounced around in Dick's head as he stared up at the ceiling from his cot, sounding completely foreign. However, somewhere between the chess games with Alfred and the friendly spars with Bruce, home stopped being the small, cozy family trailer complete with a center ring that Dick could never see again and started being the entryway adorned with a perfectly climbable chandelier and a dark, but somehow still welcoming, Batcave that he was bound determined to get back to.

Sure, Dick hurt like hell and the next day's training was going to be extremely painful, but he knew that he had to be strong. For Bruce; for Wally; and for _home._

When Dick finally fell into a fitful sleep, he dreamed of a bat fighting an owl while a small robin huddled in the background. The owl won.

* * *

**Day 3**

It was on the third day that every single song was completely analyzed and all facts compiled. It would've taken half that time if not for the fact that villains had absolutely _no_ respect for a superhero's busy schedule, but nonetheless, Batman was creating a list of facts about Whisper on the Cave's database by noon.

Now, they just had to figure out what the facts meant, figure out what was important to him, go through all of his files, find the base he was being kept in, plan a rescue mission, then carry out said rescue mission.

Despite the looming mission ahead of them, Batman refused to get discouraged. He had evidence and all he had to do was connect the dots. He could do it. He was the world's greatest detective; he _had_ to do it.

Turning to the Team and Captain Marvel, who was the only other Leaguer present, Batman quickly said, "Report."

Miss Martian tentatively stepped forward, lip caught between her teeth, and replied, "Well, all of my songs were from early 2009. He sang a lot about being scared and...and-" Her voice dropped to a whisper, eyes attached to the floor. "Sometimes, the way he put things, it sounded like...like...like he wanted to just _end it_."

The room fell even quieter than before, the tension visibly forming, until Batman nodded - stiffly, Artemis noted, _extremely_ stiffly - and turned, typing into the database '_displayed suicidal tendencies'._

Everyone flinched at the bluntness of the statement, but they continue with the process. Hopefully, _when _- not if, never if - they got Whisper back, Black Canary would be willing to have a few sessions with him.

* * *

**Day 4**

It was after going through the twenty-four ways of shaping his hand into a fist that Dick came up with it. It wasn't his fault; he just got really bored and when bored, as Wally had taught him during those months, annoying someone was the best cure. Even if the only 'someone' in the room was a highly trained assassin that was much more skilled than Dick was.

So when, Feliciano asked what the most lethal fist position was, Dick replied with a muttered, "The sixteenth, _Felix_." He wasn't sure why he did it; it had tumbled out of his mouth without any permission whatsoever.

'Felix' paused, eyes narrowing dangerously, and suddenly, he was right in front of Dick, one hand gripping the collar of his shirt, the other raised in a fist - _the sixteenth position_ - and Dick just stared back defiantly. If in his absence, Felix had become so temperamental that he snapped at a single sarcastic comment, then Batman was a closet 'My Little Pony' fangirl.

Slowly, inch by inch, Dick was released, before Felix - _Dick thought the name suited him better than Feliciano -_ walked to the wall and pushed the intercom button that connected him to his personal assistant because apparently even villains needed them. Speaking in a dangerous tone, he said, "Send Alexander down to the training room."

Dick instantly stiffened. Alexander was, in essence, big, bad, and baton-obsessed. More specifically, _police baton_ obsessed. Nothing involving him was good for Dick's health, especially if the adolescent had just done something considered 'bad', which meant that Dick was going to bed sore that morning. Perfect.

As expected, Alexander (Dick momentarily thought about calling him Alex) sauntered into the room, once again in uniform, within the minute; it seemed the larger man only existed to serve Felix sometimes.

Felix leaned in closer to Alexander, murmuring in his ear, and Dick found himself backing up slightly. If that was an order to do something _specifically_ cruel, then Dick didn't want any part of it, even it if was only for him that it was happening. Dick could _see _the twisted smirk Alexander gave, even through the mask, and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

An hour later, when Dick could still feel the knife cutting into his arm and could still hear his screams muffled only by him biting his lip echoing throughout the chamber, he looked at the red letters on his arm, the bright, evil color making him want to throw up, and knew that the name '_Feliciano'_ would be forever messily inscribed on his forearm.

* * *

**Day 4**

Batman blamed his shock on lack of sleep.

It was true that he had only gotten a few seconds of sleep when he happened to doze off in the Batmobile (he had missed that cat by a few measly inches), but with Dick _and_ Whisper's lives on the line, sleep was far from a necessity.

But judging how he was reacting to the song - choking on air, eyes bulged out - Bruce thought that maybe sleep might not be a bad thing at the moment.

He wasn't exactly sure _what_ he was expected when Wally had stepped forward slowly, which never looked natural on a speedster, and given him the iPod he had been handed just days earlier. But, listening to the song that Whisper had labeled '_This Song Saved My Life_' **{By Simple Plan}**, Bruce knew that he wasn't expecting anything like that._  
_

Understanding people had never been a top priority of his, but Bruce certainly wanted to understand Whisper. The boy meant much more to him than he originally thought and now...now he was determined to have the chance to get to know him better. He knew that failing Whisper, Dick, _whoever the hell he was trying to save, _wasn't an option. Even as he leaned his elbows on the Batcomputer and closed his eyes for what he knew would be longer than just a few seconds, something nagged Bruce. He was missing something, something important.

Bruce just sighed and gave in to his fatigue.

He would figure it out later.

* * *

**Day 5**

Dick was quickly reminded that individuality among assassins was not allowed when he received his third beating. Felix had found out that Dick had neglected to keep up his training with weapons besides his favored escrima sticks, and for that Dick wasn't able to reset his nose until three hours later, when Felix was called away to an important meeting.

* * *

**Day 5**

All the facts from the songs were compiled, forming a cruel and depressing list. Not even the fact that they had finished their first task could lift the Team's spirits after seeing what Whisper had been hiding from them.

* * *

**Day 6**

After Dick took down five Talons in hand-to-hand combat in under a minute, Felix granted him the luxury of not having to wear handcuffs while being escorted around the base. He still was guarded by at least three guards at all times, though, especially during his technologic training.

He was given a small lunch of rice and chicken and promptly plopped down at a school-styled desk displaying a laptop. Dick turned his head to look behind him and raised a single eyebrow at Felix. "You really trust me enough to give me Internet access?"

If it weren't for the man's haughty attitude, Dick was sure that he would've snorted. Instead, he merely narrowed his eyes and replied, "Of course not. I made sure that there is no possible way for you to obtain communications with any of your..._acquaintances_. You are merely here to hack the League of Talons' system."

Dick, true to his age, actually did snort. "What, did you forget the password or something?" The smack to the back of his head did its part to dissuade the boy's rambunctious behavior and he continued more subdued. "Fine, geez. What do you need me to do?"

"I wish to check your abilities with technology and seeing as how our computer base is the best in the world, I though it best that we test you using it."

Dick had always been chatty when hacking, whether over a mental link with the Team or orally with Bruce, and that specific trait came into play as soon as his hands hit the keys.

"You realize your system is actually really flawed, right? I mean, normally, backdoors this small wouldn't be a problem, but since it has _incredible_ similarities to Ra's al Ghul's firewalls, I can access them without too much trouble. Bruce used to make me hack the easier Shadows' files for practice, so I practically could do this in my sleep. Well crap, there goes his secret identity, but wait, you know Bruce is Batman, right? You _are _the one who told me in the first place."

At that, Dick paused in his typing and turned in his chair, taking in Felix's definitely unamused face. He never knew forehead veins could throb that prominently.

"First off, _boy,_" Felix spat, "I am _nothing_ like that ancient fool. The League of Talons could always beat his _'Shadows_' if we so decided, but as you should know by now, we prefer to operate behind the scenes. Now, _shut your mouth_ and fix the firewall."

Dick just smirked and did his designated task, though not without creating a few more holes in the network for Bruce. He never knew getting under Felix's skin would be that easy, let alone be fun.

* * *

**Day 6**

Artemis was _so_ done, it wasn't even funny.

She was done with her villainous family roots, she was done with lying to her friends, and, most importantly, she was done with that little brat Whisper managing to get under her skin even when he was busy being _kidnapped by assassins._

The first few days, she hadn't taken the recording to heart - she still didn't know how he knew she would get that batch of recordings, she suspected Batman was in on it - but as time went by, Artemis started thinking about it more and more. Maybe if it had been a song, she wouldn't have reacted so strongly, but it wasn't. It was just Whisper talking, telling her that secrets can make people self destruct, that she should tell the Team her heritage, and that Wally would still love her.

She didn't even _want_ to know how he knew to include that.

But, here she was, four days after first hearing it, getting ready to spill everything. Artemis dearly hoped the fear clenching in her gut wasn't needed.

And it wasn't. The Team accepted her as if it didn't effect anything; which in their eyes, it didn't. Wally gave her a quick kiss, just long enough to reassure her and calm her nerves. Kaldur smiled warmly and seemed to mentally channel calming ocean thoughts. Conner bluntly stated that his dad was Lex Luthor, much to the surprise of the Team, and explained what had happened with the Shields. Turned out he quit using them when Whisper left because he ran out and Lex hadn't contacted him to offer more. And M'gann...well, M'gann gave herself a makeover. Artemis had a feeling she would be the one to explain what all happened while he was gone to Whisper.

As she breathed a sigh of relief that it was all over - no more secrets - Artemis faintly remembered Whisper's closing words. _"You aren't your family. You're one of us."_

* * *

**Day 7**

Felix asked for everything Dick had learned about the Justice League and their sidekicks. Dick replied by saying that they weren't the League's sidekicks, they were their _partners_, and the day he betrayed any of them was the day he died.

The fact that that day might be coming sooner than later hurt more than the punishment.

* * *

**Day 8**

They had tried everything, but nothing seemed to work.

Not 'Whisper', not 'running', not 'Talons', not even 'peck of pickle peppers', which had been Wally's idea. Anything remotely related to the songs _wasn't working_ and Batman was beyond frustrated.

Along with the dead end they had reached with the passwords, Bruce still wasn't one hundred percent sure what Whisper meant when he said he and Dick would 'stall'. It was obvious he had been captured by the Talons, but what about Dick? Was he being held prisoner, too? How did the acrobat even fit into the entire thing? Then, there was the fact that _Whisper_ had left when _Dick_ was the one being summoned. It didn't add up and it was driving Bruce crazy.

Every now and then, at least once a day, a single notion would cross his mind, but he pushed it away each time. To think that Dick and Whisper were actually the same person would make sense, but that...that just _couldn't _be the case. It was simply too _wild_ to be true, leaving Bruce to believe he was just over thinking things.

That belief still didn't stop Bruce's thoughts from turning down that road, though.

* * *

**Day 9**

Dinah finally cracked.

It was only a matter of time, really, until the truth came rushing out of her, along with a barrage of pencil on paper. The only thing was, she knew she was doing a bad thing by betraying Whisper's trust, but it was for his own good, right? Dinah mentally assured herself that it was to save his life as she placed the folder in Batman's pitch black glove. It was a huge invasion of privacy and a betrayal of confidentiality, but it was worth it.

The letters didn't matter in the end. The only passwords it gave them was 'Haly's Circus', 'Daring Dangers', and 'death', none of which worked.

* * *

**Day 10**

"How."

_Thump. _

"Many."

_Smack. _

"_Damn."_

_Wham._

"Times."

_Crack. _

Dick winced as his nose was broken, _again._ The beating had stopped as soon as it slid out of place but Felix continued to speak. "Do I have to tell you my _name_ is Feliciano." It was phrased as a question, but the articulation was so flat, it couldn't be anything but a statement. Dick didn't let that deter him though.

"What," he joked, spitting out the blood that managed to finagle its way into his mouth. "You don't like the nickname?"

Felix growled, a feral sound deep down in his throat. The man had steadily been losing patience as each day went by until he finally decided to neglect calling his personal beater and just do it himself.

Dick was starting to miss Alexander. He didn't hit as hard.

"You will now begin fighting various Talons daily. Hand-to-hand, no weapons. Understood?" Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position against the wall, Dick nodded, a dark glare forming in his blue eyes. He wasn't _ever_ going to stop fighting.

* * *

**Day 11**

"Nothing's working. Maybe...maybe it's time to try a different approach." Superman said it cautiously, carefully, but everyone still knew that he was thinking that it was all useless, just refused to say it in the presence of the Dark Knight.

The comment was met with silence; no one really knew what to do from there. Eventually, the lull in volume was broken by a _ridiculously_ simple solution spoken by the least likely 'good idea man'.

"Why don't we just go talk to people from Rich-uh, _Dick_ Grayson's past?" Everyone in the room turned to look at a certain red-headed speedster, who's eyes went wide and mouth contracted at all the attention. "I-I mean, Whisper said he was friends with the Grayson kid, right? Soooo, what if the password was about him and _not_ Whisper?"

"That's...so stupid it might actually _work_," muttered Superman, face scrunched up in thought.

Wally, smirking and standing a little taller, proudly replied, "_Thank_ you...I think." Trying to smother her giggles, Artemis gently nudged Wally's shoulder with her own, getting a wink in return.

But, of course, Batman chose that moment to interrupt. "Team, suit up and meet back here in five." Upon seeing that he had the teens' attention, he continued. "We're going to Haly's Circus."

* * *

**AN: Eh, I tried. I'm not very good at romance, 'cause I'm a clueless dork when it comes to dating. ;) Oh well. I hope y'all enjoyed it anyway. Took me long enough to figure out how to finish it. Hmph.**

**The LoJ (League of Jerks) aren't too good at technology, just good at bragging. That's why Dick was able to sabotage it without them noticing. And I've actually been having a lot of similarities between Ra's and Felix just for that conversation.**

**And as for suicidal tendencies, I have never believed that to be a proper solution to _anything. _If any of you guys need to talk - PM me, review me, I don't care how you contact me - I _will_ be willing to listen to you. Anything to make you realize how special you really are.**

**Until next chapter! **

**-GSDLover**


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